The Last Bite
by unset city
Summary: Not everything happened as it was known to. Persephone did in fact leave the Underworld without having to stay, not having taken that final cursed bite of the pomegranate. It should have been over then, but it wasn't, for some fates are meant to be...H/P
1. Freedom and Sins

The Last Bite

Chapter One: Freedom and Capture

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Greek myth gods or goddesses or anything from Dante's Inferno

This is my first Greek Myth story so please go easy. Oh, and sorry if I got some things screwed up, I sort of threw in some Dante's Inferno cuz that version of the Underworld is just amazing…in a sinister way of course, ha.

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It was only when the sunlight first caressed her face that she sank her teeth into it, allowed the red juices that strikingly resembled blood to fill her mouth and color her lips, thin streaks falling down her chin as though she were bleeding. The sweet taste burst on her tongue, tasting as lovely as what she now had, tasting as wonderful and glorious as this moment—the moment she entered the world of life again.

The blue sky was as endless as she remembered it, the fields as green and coated in flowers of all kinds, courteous of her overjoyed mother. The rustle of leaves, the smell of grass—it all put breath back in her lungs as the red juices fell to the grass at her feet as she lowered the succulent fruit She could not decide where to look…

Until she saw her. From the trees, the sun dappled domain of the forest, her mother emerged, a smile on her lips as her green eyes—so like the earth she controlled—watered with tears of joy.

They stood frozen, staring at each other for a breathless second as they searched one another, and she saw her mother's eyes greedily search her, the daughter she had for so long been denied…

And then her lips parted, and on a sobbing breath the pomegranate tumbled from her pale hand to the ground. "Persephone…"

And as the girl raced into her mother's arms, crying along with her, the sun shown brightly down upon them as the world rejoiced the return of the doomed Persephone, brought back to life by her mother's love.

And on the ground, forgotten beneath the burning sunlight, the pomegranate shriveled up in a puddle of its own sweet, red juices…

--

It was supposed to end with that; it should have ended with that. Persephone was safely back on the Earth again, in her mother's gentle care a top Mount Olympus, reinstated as the maiden of spring as she was born to be. The earth flourished again, and all rejoiced; there were no tears, no worries, no pains…

At least, there weren't _on _Earth…

Far below the surface of the fertile planet, in a place no one wished to venture into, the Underworld was even darker than it normally was as the King of it all, that gruesome place of darkness, mourned the lose of the one being—the only one—he truly had.

Or at least, the only person he _had _had. Now that she was gone, there was just nothing, nothing at all. He sat a top his throne—nothing unusual in the pose. It was always his throne, that dark silver piece of metal, so cold and dripping in diamonds, that he went to to seek solace.

He was not sure why he found such solace in the cold metal, in the echoing room that it sat in. All he could think of was that he loved it simply because it was so cold, so isolated, so…dead. It was all he had now, his title and riches—his only company in this dark world. And if he did not have them, then he would surely just become part of the shadows again, a lost soul like those he took in, allowed to pass through.

Ironic, wasn't it? That the Lord of the Dead, Hades himself, was as dead inside as those he ruled over. Such a thought would have made him smile before, that long year ago before his dark existence had been altered, and that single ray of light dared penetrate the darkness.

That single ray of light that he himself had caught, yearned for, taken in… All for himself. That ray of light that had managed to lighten his black soul, that single ray of light that had shown him more than just death and gloom and despair, but the light side of light, the things he had always been deprived of. Happiness, joy, laughter, smiles, kindness, sincerity, trust…love. Oh yes, there had been love; he had certainly, more than anything, learned about love. That wicked, destroying emotion…

That ray of light that had intrigued him so was supposed to stay separate from him, beneficial only to his world, but never to him; never to the great Hades, who refused to feel such foolish things…

But that light…That woman…

Even now the thought of her had his breath quickening, his black heart fluttering. Her name, her existence, her light—it all had him feeling that cursed emotion he wished he could cut out, that emotion that haunted him far worse than any malevolent spirit could. That damn, horrid love…

She was the cause of everything wrong with him now, the cause of the downfall of the great Hades. He had been fine before her, perfect even in his dead lifestyle; and she had woken him up, brought him out of the coffin that he had confined himself into. And at first he had not minded it, even exulted in it, to be free of all that burdening darkness…

But he had never expected that light to ever leave him. If he had known that the light would turn frigid and turn away from him, if he had known that for all he had given her she still saw him as her captor, he would never have come up from his grave, would have never dared tried to enter that light.

He wished he could hate her for it, for tempting him, giving him something that was so painful and beautiful at the same time, but he could not; not when it had never been her fault in the first place.

He had doomed himself, he knew, just by kidnapping her, stealing her from the world of light that she was so accustomed to and forcing her to be his light and his light only, the thing that showed him what it was like to actually live, to feel, even in such a drab place that he could never escape from. His own damned curiosity, he knew, had resulted in this moment, this lowest point in all of his dark existence. He was the reason why he was sitting here alone in his dark throne room, staring at the shadows that constantly played about on the walls; all by his own doing had he ended up here, the smaller throne next to his unbearably empty, never to be filled again.

He was alone with his shadows and his pain, while up above she kept on living, now even happier, he was sure, that she was released from him forever—after all, she had not eaten the pomegranate, his last hope at being able to ever see her again in all her light, her fiery glory. He now had only the frail, fragile memories of her to last him an entire millennium and beyond, the curse of being an immortal, to haunt him. Her glowing blue eyes, as glorious as the sky he hardly ever saw, and her tumble of long red hair, flowing freely about her like a river of fire, a beacon in the darkness. And her laugh that was so infectious had filled up the entire empty throne room with no trouble, and her burning smile that knocked the breath from his lungs…

And her voice, sweeter than any Siren's, speaking to him, only to him, for him, in the gentlest of tones…

Not a girl but a woman she had been, when she had dwelled down here in Hell with him. And although he had fallen for her, he was aware, painfully so, that the woman he had taken as his wife—now ex wife as it was decreed—could never reciprocate his feelings. How could she? Who possibly could? While he was in the prime of his eternal existence, he still reeked of death, and was as cold as a corpse—the merits of being the Lord of the Underworld. And although he had riches beyond compare, he knew that that did little to impress her; the woman he loved, fiery sweet Persephone, would never be tempted in such a way. She was pure, light, sweet…The opposite of all he was, and now that she was gone…That part of him was missing. To be half a man, half a god…

The wine glass made of pure glass he held in his hand was half way gone, and with little ceremony he downed the rest, the blood red liquid sweet and bitter in his mouth, everything she was. And he could almost say that it tasted like a pomegranate…

He had given her the fruit as a last resort; he knew that they were coming for her. After a year long of keeping her to himself Demeter had become fed up and gone to Zeus, who under the Earth goddess's threats and demands had sent Hermes down to collect the stolen maiden.

It had been right in front of these thrones—their thrones—that he had offered her the succulent fruit with excuse that she would need her energy for the ride home. She had always been, for the most part, naïve, so he had not expected resistance. But this time, in that moment, she had not cared the least bit for him or his pathetic piece of fruit; instead her mind had been full of her mother and the world of light in which she had long been denied.

Her goodbye to him had been a smile, the pomegranate clutched loosely in her hand as she followed Hermes, beaming and lighting up the whole dark underground with her happiness.

He had followed her up at a discreet distance, always sticking to the shadows, desperately and futilely hoping that before she reached that light she would recall the pomegranate and take that dreadful bite that would bind them forever.

But of course she didn't, not in such gloom, not under his eyes. In the sunlight, safe and smiling she had taken that supposed cursed bite, and that was that; she was completely free of him, and the chances of seeing her again were slim to none.

He had watched the pomegranate fall to the ground, forgotten and dead, and watched her run into her mother's arms before he could take no more, and with a swirl of his dark cape had descended all the way down to the center of that pit, to that hard throne and glass of wine that burned his throat and his eyes. At least, he thought it was the wine doing that…

He just had to accept the fact that he would never, in all of eternity, have her again; Hell, the chances of seeing her again, his fiery goddess, were scarce, and he held no hope, just as he had before he had met her.

He would be lonely yes, and colder than usual, but he would have to learn to cope. As he took another long sip of his wine he thought of the dark empire he was in charge of, and forced the silly fantasy of love to leave his head. His feelings would never be reciprocated, so why bother with them in the first place, was his wayward thinking.

It was better to have not loved at all, if love meant the pain he had to go through right now, without her…

He finished the last sip of wine when Minos, one of the three judges of the dead, entered. Like Hades he was not a ghost, although he, like all the others in this realm, did possess some threads of hollowness, as in he was not entirely real. He appeared to be as he was when he died, not gray or unblinking like all the other spirits but resembling the king he had been before he had died.

He approached Hades' throne slowly, the only abnormal thing on him—the result of his curse of being a servant to Hades—being the serpentine tail that extended out from the base of his back at the end of his spine and slithered up to cover the upper half of his body like bands of a sickening, scaly green. The tail, while ghastly, did serve a purpose other than to inspire fear—it was with his tail that Minos announced the level in which the damned, sinning soul was to be sent to.

As he stopped before Hades now that tail began to unwrap itself from around the upper part of his body, falling to the ground before slowly snaking its way back up as Minos regarded his lord with a critical eye.

With eyes that were a sinful burgundy Hades watched the tail wrap around his judge for him once, twice... Only two times.

Hades quirked a brow as a cold smile enveloped his features. "Two times, Minos? The second level of Tartarus is lust, as I recall. Are you accusing me of the crime of lust, dear Minos?"

"Yes, my lord," the demon that had been a king replied steadily, not even flinching when with a single clenching of his hand Hades shattered the wine glass he was holding it, reducing it to a pile of fine glass that rained down next to him.

"Oh? And why is that Minos? Do share…" The anger and the pain were wounds throbbing in his every word, and the judge heard it, lowering his dark eyes as his tail twitched on his shoulder.

"You lusted after her my lord, that maiden of light, of spring, and look where it has gotten you. You sinned because you stole her, and you wanted her for all your own. Am I correct?"

Hades made no answer; he did not have one. He could never be a liar, and he did not have the strength at the moment to agree to it, to even look his judge in the eye.

"So…" he softly muttered after a moment of silence, looking back to Minos with a bitter smile on his face. "What's my punishment Minos?"

"Your punishment has already been dealt with," replied the serpentine king. "She was taken from you forever, and now you are suffering. It is far worse than a usual punishment, isn't it?"

"Indeed," growled the dark lord, "Feelings…Who invented such silly nuisances?"

"You and your kin did my lord," Minos replied as he stepped back, a faint hiss escaping his lips as he began to fade back into the shadows in which he had emerged. "The gods are in charge of all, but isn't it ironic that you can not control each other, can't control your own hearts?"

Hades made no reply, and soon enough the room was silent again, the hissing sound gone along with Minos as he descended back down to his post in the darkest area of this murky world.

Left alone again Hades did not move, wished he had not destroyed his wine glass as the urge to block her out became stronger with each second spent suspended in this eternal silence, eternal rest. The final stop, the end of all things…Including his heart.

With a sigh he leaned back against the throne, tilting his head back so that his wine colored eyes were trained on the dark cavern like ceiling as the silence pressed in on him, mocking him. There was no light laughter to fill it, no sweet lilting voice…

"Persephone…" he muttered to the ceiling, and beyond it he could almost imagine that he saw her, staring up at the bright blue sky as she picked flowers with her mother. "What have you done to me…?"

Silence was his only answer.

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So what did you think? Was it so bad as to not review? I'd really love the support, just so I know if I should continue this or not… So, what are you waiting for? Review please, or I'll sick Cerberus on you!


	2. Lovelier

The Last Bite

Chapter Two: Lovelier

Disclaimer: I do not own any Greek myths or references to Dante's Inferno, yadda, yadda, yadda…

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Life had never been lovelier for the daughter of spring. Just as the season that fit her, Persephone flourished under the sunlight, her smile stretching all across the contours of her face and lighting up her deep emerald eyes with a fire that burned as brightly as her hair. Everything was back as it should be; she was at her mother's side again, idly skipping through fields and picking flowers as she had always done before. Nothing had changed, it seemed, and everyone was content to go on as though the event had never happened, as though the six months she had been absent had not existed.

It was the wisest thing to believe, and certainly the loveliest. But that was just the thing—everything was becoming just too lovely for Persephone. She loved being in the sunlight again, loved to hear her mother's laughter and her voice. She was allowed to see the green forests again, and see all of her fellow gods and goddesses, some of whom she had really missed.

But yet…Even with all of her freedom, even with everything running as it should, Persephone felt, deep in her heart, a steady aching that was both frightening and unnatural to her, especially because of what it was causing.

Persephone, by every right, could still be considered a child. She was but eighteen, and still had not seen much of the world. In fact, all she had ever seen was what her mother allowed her to see, the woman who had borne her dictating her life in a way Persephone would never have minded if the circumstances had been different, if they had never happened, as everyone chose to believe.

Well, she chose to believe the truth, and nothing but it.

When she had first arrived back from the Underworld, there had been so many questions.

What was it like? Was it really as dark and gruesome as they say? What was _he _like?

They all asked because they never knew. Hades kept his home a secret, and no one dared venture down there on their own. Luckily—or unluckily—for Persephone, she had not had a choice.

So far, her mother would not let her go to the place where she had been abducted, to see the fair blue narcissus that had so tempted her to go there and the first place.

In fact, some nights, when her mother was asleep and Apollo had retired, Persephone thought of sneaking out to go see for herself, to go pluck another pale blue flower that had smelt so sweet…

And would, with all the hope she held in her heart, allow her to see him again. If the flower had lured her to him the first time, who knows if it would happen again? It was a though that sent both chills of fear and shivers of excitement through her young body.

Hades…

The mere sound of his name put her heart in turmoil, threw it in the flames that had made up so many parts of his dark castle. She did not know exactly what to feel for him. Everyone told her that it had to be fear; he had abducted her after all, made her be his bride. And yet…Despite what he had done, he had been the most loving man for a husband. Never had he raised his voice at her, and never had he touched her once without permission.

But no one could believe that; how could they? Hades was the lord of the dead, and therefore could be nothing more than a violent, dark man who got thrills from punishing souls, from tormenting them.

Her mother had told her such a thing in her description of him when she was little, and that image that her mother had so ardently described stuck with her. A skeleton of a man, as pale as death, eyes as dark as hell…

Persephone had grown up fearing him, the lord that controlled the worst course of life, death, and had been happy that she had never encountered him.

But now, as she lay in her bed late at night, staring out the window not far from her at the stars the gods had created, she cursed herself for ever believing such a thing, such lies from her mother. And she felt…bed for fearing him.

The true Hades, the one that over the months she had grown to know and befriend, was anything but the hard spirit he was depicted to be. She remembered fondly that he loved to read poems, and had everyday called her to the library to read one to her. And his voice was not the cracking, throaty thing that she had been told it was, but rich and smooth and sinfully deep, the voice of an angel in a way. In fact, his whole visage was that of a fallen angel, from his angular jaw, to the fall of his unruly raven hair and the stunning shade of his eyes, that unexpected crimson color that had immediately stolen her breath…

And yet, despite the fact that he was gorgeous, despite the fact that he had treated her exactly right, she still had not found it in her to love him. She liked him, yes, and admired him, but love…?

He had forced her to be his bride, abducted her to from the home she knew so well. Taken her from her mother… And so resentment had formed on those grounds, a wall that separated them form each other despite his desire to get closer.

They had never kissed except quickly at their wedding, and he had never really touched her. Watched her, yes, and admired her from a distance, but she had never let him lay a hand on her and, respectfully, he had not done so. Even up to the very last instant he had kept his distance, forced a stained smile on his face as he watched with troubled eyes as she was taken from his dark world forever and whisked back into the life she knew, the world she needed.

Darkness would never be for her, the daughter of spring, and they had both known that. And so he had given her one final parting gift, the only thing that grew in his dead world—A pomegranate.

He had handed it to her and told her to eat it, but she had not. She did not know why she resisted him, or how she managed to under the dark fire of his gaze, but she had, waiting until she had merged into the light to bite into the sweet fruit, her own personal goodbye to her capture and her former husband.

And their bond was lost under the light of the sun, devoured like the pomegranate…

But it was not completely gone. Underneath her pillow she felt for it, her fingers grazing the soft side of it. The pomegranate…

It was not completely gone—she still had one more bite left, that final bite that would rid her of all evidence, free her completely from his dark chains.

As the moonlight emerged from behind the clouds to cut through the darkness, she withdrew it from beneath her pillow, and stared at the red beads inside of it, glistening like rubies in the frail light, like drops of blood…

She had, after returning to her house with her mother, after seeing everyone again, gone back to that meadow, to the entrance to his domain, and collected her half eaten food. One more bite and it would be gone… She was not sure what exactly had prompted her to retrieve it, but she had, and it now rested very much a live still in her hand. So red and cold…

"Hades…"

Inexplicably, she thought about him, and wondered if she had perhaps broken his heart. She had never meant to, not at all, and still could not entirely comprehend what a great god like him would want with her. Whereas her mother was an important goddess, Persephone was not. Most of her work normally involved helping her mother with her work, and most of the time she just did not care enough to do it. She normally went out in the forests looking for Pan or any nymphs to play with, spent her days basking in the sunlight…

It hit her then. As she squeezed the fruit in her revelation, a thin trickle of the pomegranate's juices trickled down her arm, a spot of red on her pale skin.

Persephone, here in this domain, was useless and just a child. She was not considered an adult, not respected as one, even though she was of adult age, to be considered a woman by now. Yet no one saw that, saw beneath her desire to skip her chores to run through the fields and play with the nymphs. She was useless, sad, and like a child…

It had been the opposite in the Underworld, so very opposite. Down there, she had learned so much, perhaps too much. The thought of death had never really drifted across her naive mind until she had seen the river of Styx's, seen the countless pale souls trying to cross it.

She had never really thought about suffering until she had seen some of Tartarus when she had went exploring on her own one day, weeks after being held up in Hade's dark castle. She had not known where she was going, but she had known, from the stench of singed flesh, that it was somewhere bad. And then…And then she had seen them there, burning, wreathed in flames and glaring at her. She had fled, screaming, weeping, back to the castle, where Hades had greeted her.

He had never spoken a word about it to her, but she was sure that he knew what she had seen, and knew that it hurt her. And yet…He had not comforted her, left her alone to overcome her emotions on her own, so unlike what anyone up here on Olympus would do. Her mother, god bless her, would smother her with kisses, suffocate her with concern and too much attention.

But down there, in his dark castle, she had been alone, and able to defend for herself. Not a child, but a…A woman, a goddess, the Queen of the Underworld…

The pomegranate she placed within her drawer full of artifacts she had found when she was younger by her bedside, left to rest until she needed it again, a reminder of what had happened, and what was what to come…

Persephone was no longer a child, and knew what she had to do. She was silent as she crept from her room, held her breath as she tip toed past her mother's room. The warm air caressed her body through her thin white shift as she stepped silently out of her house, looking up to the stars dancing above her. No one, she was sure, would bother watching her, a mere girl as they thought. But below her was another story…

Everything was still, silent, as though the world were holding its breath as she set out, her feet flying up behind her as she broke out in a run through the wild forest she knew so well. Tree after tree, bush after bush, green after green… And still no blue…

She was not sure how long she ran, but she was winded by the time she saw it, just up ahead, highlighted under the light of the moon.

And as smile overtook her face as she approached it, that forbidden field of flowers, the narcissuses…

And life had never been lovelier for the daughter of spring.

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I hoped you liked it! Please review and tell me what you think!


	3. Child

The Last Bite

Chapter Three: Child

Disclaimer: I do not own the myth of Hades and Persephone, although this plot is mine. At least I've got something, right?

* * *

There was a breeze that pushed at her, hurried her along further into that field, the place where it had all began. The flowers, those beautiful dark petals, swayed back and forth in a hypnotic dance, as though waving to her, greeting her like old friends.

Everything, down to the last detail, was just as she remembered it, and into the gentle breeze, a caress across her body, she shivered. It was so hard to believe that it was all the same in appearance, when so much beyond this field, beyond this clearing of forever blooming narcissuses, everything had changed.

As she walked to the middle of it, felt the soft blossoms caress her exposed legs, inhaled the rich, sweet scent that the narcissuses produced, she could almost imagine that she was that child again, the young girl who had wandered off naively and plucked one of these lovely dark flowers, the woman child who had never had a husband, or seen darkness. In fact, back then darkness had not existed to her, there were no shadows, no dark lord…

The breeze seemed to pick up when she thought of him, the field of flowers almost glowing unnaturally in the moonlight, It brought a smile to her face; she knew that his presence lingered here, was buried deep beneath the lovely flowers in the soft earth. And she'd just have to unearth him.

Many would call her crazy; Hell, even she thought she was going a little insane when she knelt down among the indigo flowers and grabbed one of the delicate stems between her equally delicate fingers. She should not be here, in this place where it was impossible to forget, to let things go, and she should not be about to make the same mistake twice…

But she was. She was here, her heart was pounding wildly, and the flower…The flower was just waiting to be plucked, his ruby eyes begging to be looked into…

It came out of the ground easily, as easily as the first time, and the familiar rich scent of the blossom rose up in a great cloud that she adored as she brought the freed flower to her nose, to her lips, and whispered the name of the being that had undone her as well as set her free. Only one name…

"Hades…"

The breeze grew stronger, as in her chest her heart shivered and quaked with an emotion she could not comprehend. She waited, tensed, the stem warm in her hand, the flower tickling her lips, for him to arrive, for a crack to emerge in the ground as before and he, her dark lord, to come up and take her back down to that dark castle, the rich black world where she could be an adult again, be someone of actual importance.

But alas, it was not to be; as quickly as the breeze rose up it just as quickly died down, as though silenced in some way. And despite the sinking sensation in her heart, Persephone knew not to give up, not yet when she was so close to being of importance again, so close to seeing the only person who saw not a child but the woman she had always dreamed of being.

And so she pressed the soft petals harder against her lips, inhaled the sweet fragrance and exhaled his name with all the sweetness the flower held.

"Hades…"

She nearly gasped at the sudden shudder the earth beneath her gave, watched with wide eyes as the flowers shook and swayed in an ominous fashion. She felt a small smile curl at her lips when the small earthquake stopped, knowing that he could not be far. Reaching down past the stems to the soft grass the lovely flowers grew out of, she placed her palm flat on the ground and caressed it.

"Hades, please, I know you're there; I just want to talk to you, that's all." She softly murmured, and was answered with another slight tremor in the earth beneath her hand.

She did not scream as she had before, that near year ago, when the ground not far from her began to part, the flowers and earth sliding away like that of a trapdoor as it gave way to the power of the Lord of the Underworld.

Slowly, before her wide eyes he began to emerge, floating up above the ground like one of the dead coming back to life, his features--the face she could not forget—glowing in an unnatural way in the moonlight, lighting his pallid skin, in the light like alabaster, and sharp, aristocratic features. And his eyes…

The deep crimson stared at her, as rich and deadly as blood in the icy light of the moon as they bore into hers, a slight scowl curled on his lips.

The seconds slipped away. She sat there, still kneeling upon the warm earth gaping at him in an astonished sort of way as he glared down at her, confusion and irritation warring inside of him at seeing the face of his beloved again.

He was the one who finally broke the tense silence, his voice velvety smooth and his eyes glowing as he asked her the question that could not be ignored or bypassed.

"Why did you call to me?"

Slowly, still staring at him with wide eyes and a pale face, she stood up until she was facing him, for the first time becoming aware of how much shorter she was than him, and nearly blushed at the height difference.

"I…I…" she began only to have her voice die on her as she realized that she honestly didn't have an answer. She shivered as another soft breeze blew past her, this one noticeably colder than the others.

Her blush deepened as he raised a brow at her, and for a moment, just a brief second, she could almost see concern for her in his deep eyes before it vanished behind a carefully constructed wall again, and he was back to eyeing her wearily.

"Why did you call on me, milady?" he asked again, and she visibly winced at the 'milady'.

"Milord Hades, please…Please call me Persephone. I mean, you know me…" Her voice was gentle and small, nearly lost in the swirling breeze.

His expression did not change as he slowly lowered his head, his dark red eyes drifting away from hers as he looked down to the dark flowers at his feet. And from somewhere deep in his chest, under his breath on the breeze, she heard him murmur her name.

"Persephone…" And her heart skipped a beat. She could not understand why, but when he said it…It brought a smile to her face again.

"That's more like it!" she said, and her smile widened when he lifted his cautious eyes to meet hers again.

"Well then, what do you want with me Persephone? Did you forget that we are no longer married, and therefore, you have no reason to see me?" he rumbled, and her smile fell at the emotionless tone of his voice, the darkness in his eyes.

"No, of course I did not forget, but…Is it wrong for me to see you now? We may not be together, Hades, but I've…I've always considered you a friend…"

"A friend?" he snorted, and his tone suddenly took on a gruffer edge. "How can you possibly consider me a friend Persephone? I kidnapped you, forced you to be my bride, separated you from all that you loved—"

"Hades, stop!" she cut him off, a pleading look in her eyes. "I know that what you did was wrong, and I should still hate you for it, but…But I can't, don't you see that? Never once did you hurt me, disrespect me, and even though you took me away from the light, from my mother…" She paused, inhaled deeply as she looked up at him, a smile, soft and sweet, tugging at her lips. "But still, through it all, I think…"

She reached out to him and caught his arm before he could jerk away, his eyes widening as her tiny hand wrapped around his forearm in a surprisingly strong grip. He inhaled sharply in hissed under his breath when she took a step towards him, her face enchantingly beautiful in the luminous light. So beautiful it was painful, squeezing his cold, dead heart with a fiery hand…

"I think, Hades, that through it all you saved me, you really did…"

His eyes, his heart, his mind…He nearly collapsed from shock at her words, at her slim hand caressing his arm and her beautiful smile—her lovely face—lit up for only him in this meadow of flowers, glowing beneath the moonlight. He could not understand, he could not…

She read the shock in his eyes, and felt a stab of both pity and happiness. She waited until he recovered, her eyes glimmering up at him, trained on his handsome face as her fingers caressed his arm through the dark fabric he wore. When he was finally able to talk, his eyes still unnaturally wide and voice oddly breathy, she was expecting the question, that one word.

"Why?"

And her smile only grew, her hand falling to his, fingers lacing through his as she felt him shudder. "Because you, Hades, make me feel like someone else, someone I've always wanted to be. You treat me so differently, respect me, your feelings are so different from everyone else's towards me…Hades, you make me feel like a woman, not a girl, but only a woman. You make me feel so normal, so…"

She stopped to widen her smile at him, squeezing his limp hand as she stared into his shocked face. "Thank you Hades…"

"You…" He began, but had to stop, took a moment to search for his voice. "You called to me just to thank me? Persephone, that is completely ridiculous! How can anyone not see that you're a woman? I mean, you…You certainly look like one!"

Immediately he winced, realizing what he had said, and a look of mortification and horror overtook his features. He had not just said that he…That she…

But Persephone, who had widened her eyes at his words, ended up having the opposite response, her laughter, bell like and glorious, echoing around the clearing freely as she squeezed his hand again, delighted.

"Why thank you milord!" she giggled, "Come now, don't be embarrassed! Trust me, I enjoyed what you said! Gods know I don't hear it enough…"

Abruptly her laughter stopped and she was serious again, her eyes dark and flat as she stared at him. "Hades, I'm serous; you are the only person who actually sees me as more than a child, who treats me as who I am, an adult…And that's why I can forgive you for it all. You showed me the darker side of life and I…I appreciate it."

"How…How can you possibly enjoy death?! Enjoy darkness?! Persephone, the Underworld is a place no one should ever see, especially a…a…"

She knew what he was going to say, and in her chest her warm hard turned brittle. "I know what you want to say, Hades, I know damn well! You were about to call me a child, weren't you? Just a child, like everyone else thinks I am!"

When she pulled away from him he tried to think of something to say, but was too taken aback to really do much of anything as she stepped away from him, her azure eyes ablaze in fury.

"I thought you were different Hades," he heard her murmur so softly on hr breath, her voice as icy as the moonlight that shed on her. "I thought that we could be just friends, I thought that there might be something inside of you that I could…That I could grow to find that I love. But now…You'll never have me back Hades, and I hope I never see you again."

She turned then, and with a whip of her fiery red hair, burning under the light, she was running back across the field, the narcissus that she had picked for him, the second one that had destroyed her, clutched to her chest as she vanished into the darkness of the wood.

And Hades, all alone, had no choice but to raise his face to the sky and beg for it to fall.

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Ok, so what did you think? I'm sorry I took so long to update—I've been really sick and really busy with a project, where me and four other people have to shoot a short 10 minute film for film and lit, a class I'm taking, It may sound like an easy thing to do, but trust me, it's not! With all the stupid camera angles, and the scripts, and the costuming…But it's finally done, so here I am! But what did you think, seriously? I didn't want Persephone to immediately fall in love with Hades, so I had her consider the possibility of a friendship forming. I don't know…I just hate stories where the main characters fall in love for no real reason! I mean, shouldn't there be an established bond first? But anyway, please review, I'd greatly appreciate it! And who knows? Maybe it'll help me feel better!


	4. Shade

The Last Bite

Chapter Four: Shade

Disclaimer: I do not own the myth of Hades and Persephone, and am merely writing this story for fun.

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There was nothing for him to do but seep back into the ground and harden his heart even more. There was nothing for her to do but run back to her little room in the rustic cottage on the hill and throw herself back upon her bed, waiting for sleep to come and claim her. But sleep, and all the relief it offered, refused to obey her, and for the rest of the night she stayed up, staring at the narcissus in her hand, the petals so soft and delicate under her touch…

She wanted to, should have, shredded it now, ripped away the petals, broken the stem so that there was nothing left to remind her of this night and of the anger that man—that god of hell—had caused her. He had called her weak as though it were nothing, looked down at her like everyone else. He, the man that had claimed that he loved her as a woman, and only that! He had lied, and she…she had fallen for it.

Her thumb pierced through one of the soft petals, creating a tear in it as she ground her teeth and glared up at the ceiling.

"Hades, you bastard," she whispered to no one, and listened as her own voice echoed around her, carrying all the vehemence she felt. She should have never gone to that meadow, never learned the truth. She had thought that maybe he had deserved a chance with her, the only one that had seen her as something more than a child, but… but that had not been so.

Rolling onto her side, she crushed the flower next to her on her bed as she buried her face into her pillow and screamed, the sound smothered in the fabric so that her mother, sleeping lightly next door, would not hear.

She felt some semblance of shame now as she thought about what she had done, practically betrayed her mother to run off and see the man that had kidnapped her and taken her forcibly to his world. He was a menace, as her mother always told her, and he did not deserve her love. She was the daughter of the earth, spring in bodily form; how could spring ever exist in the darkness below the surface of this world?

No, she told herself firmly, it wouldn't, and it couldn't. She had just gone to see him to tell him it was over, tell him that she wanted nothing more to do with him.

But the flower in her hand spoke otherwise.

With a groan she sat up, rubbed her eyes and sighed. The cool moonlight filtering in through her window did little to clam her down as it usually did as she bit her lip, stared down at the flower that seemed to glow in the dark.

"I guess I know now that I was not meant to be with him," she whispered to the soft petals, gently caressing one. "Thank you for that, fates. I can see that he was not the one…"

So she'd just have to grow somewhere else, far away from the shade he offered her, the darkness and his dark crimson eyes…

There would be no more thoughts of him, she told her self resolutely as she lay back down and closed her eyes, tried to block out the image of him she saw dancing behind her eyelids. It was over, and he was as dead to her as everything he controlled…

And yet still, despite her words, she could not help but place the indigo flower, now wilting slightly, underneath her pillow as she dreamt.

--------------------------

The next couple of weeks brought no change for Persephone or Hades. Both of them stayed in their designated realms, Hades overseeing his dark land and Persephone playing in the meadows with the nymphs, taking strolls with her mother and Hermes, who she noticed had been watching her carefully, as if scrutinizing her. But he never said a word.

Up on Mt Olympus, the life of the immortal beings went on as usual, no different with each decade that passed as they sat upon their thrones and manipulated the human world. Aphrodite still played her tricks, and Zeus was still as scandalous as ever, sneaking down to the earth away from Hera to find yet another human to seduce. The world was vibrant again, the last chill caused by Persephone's descent into the Underworld fading away and evaporating on the dewy mists of the morning, the perfect heat settling over the land and making so many flowers—including narcissuses—thrive.

Life could not be anymore ordinary for anyone, unless, of course, you were Hades and Persephone.

They did all that was expected of them, completely, that is to say. Hades did oversee all that he was supposed to, but one could not help but notice that he did it a little too much.

It was rare for him, over the course of those weeks, to sleep or to take a break. Constantly was he flitting around between the levels of his domain, always watching the damned take their punishment.

He went to all areas, saw all sorts of things, but it was the room of lust, that giant whirlwind that so many were trapped in, where he could usually be found. And it only made sense—was he himself not guilty of that act? As he watched the souls be thrown around, he felt as though he himself were in there with them, flying and falling without stopping, especially whenever he thought of dark red hair and sparkling blue eyes.

She had become his torturer since that day, her voice haunting him, the flower she had clutched in her hands to call him to her mocking him. She had wanted to see him, had wanted to give him a chance, and he…he had messed it all up.

If only he had not said what he had said, of only he had just taken her in his arms and—

No. No…That would have never worked, no matter how much he wanted to fantasize. She had come to him not looking for a loved, but for a friend, someone to see her as what she really was, a gorgeous goddess that he knew he did not deserve.

As much as he tried to tell himself that she had wanted him to seek him out, he knew that it could not be so. She had not run into his arms, had not told him to whisk her away to a place where they could be together eternally, which also happened to be the place where he knew she would die inside. There was no way to win with them, a cursed love, so it was probably better that she had not gained any feelings for him, had not taken that final bite of the pomegranate.

But oh, how his heart still ached! She did not want him, the dark god that smelt of death and was as cold as ice. Who possibly would? Only the souls that had committed lust would understand him, and he hated himself even more for that. To get lost in the whirlwind of his own foolish thoughts…

He stayed down there, deep within the cave of lust, and everyday, against his will, thought of her.

Up on the surface, Persephone found herself caught in a similar yet slightly different situation. Her life was back to normal, and all was perfect again.

She played deep within the forests with the nymphs, Hermes sometimes accompanying her, just as she always had. She went out with her mother to pick flowers and harvest crops just as she always had, and just as it used to be like ran through the green grass with a smile on her lips and her face tilted towards the sun.

At first glance, it appeared as though there was nothing wrong with her. In fact, that was what everyone, even wise Zeus, thought. She was back to normal, and the whole incident with Hades was forgotten, covered by the happy light Apollo shed and the love Aphrodite spread across the land.

But at a closer look, a deep introspection Persephone would let no one see, everything certainly was not alright.

She played in the forest with the nymphs like usual, yes, but it was noted that she did it with so much less enthusiasm than what it had been, her feet heavy as she pranced, her eyes far away as she picked flowers.

She barely noticed the warmth of the sun anymore, barely saw the green flourishing all around her, the flowers bursting into life. She saw nothing other than what was in her own mind, that dark shadow that had fallen across it that had only one name, and one name only.

Hades.

He was all around her, even when she hated him, hated it. She could not pick any type of flowers without thinking about the one still wilting beneath her pillow, the one she took out every night to inspect, the smell. Even after weeks, it still smelt heavenly.

She hated what he was making her into, hated that he seemed to be making her think of him. More than once she pondered if perhaps he had poisoned her down in his dark world so that she thought of no one but him and his crimson eyes, burning solely for her.

The thought of that, for some reason, always brought shivers up her spine.

She tried her best to hide her thoughts of him from her mother, but it seemed as though her dearest mother would do nothing but mention something that made her think of him as of late.

It was all just a coincidence, but it happened far too much to be considered just that.

Her mother would, as an example, be toiling around in the garden with her, and would suddenly say, after minutes of silence: "The pomegranates really look good this year. So juicy and red…Would you like one, Persephone? I think they are ready to be eaten."

And other times, out of no where, she would comment on the shade beneath the trees and how soothing it was, or talk about how especially blue the narcissuses were this month.

Persephone knew that her mother did not know what she was doing, but it had an effect just the same. Soon Persephone had no choice but to try to avoid her mother, sometimes going so far as to wonder if Hades had perhaps possessed her mother just to torment her with reminders of him.

More than once she told herself that she was still mad at him, and should not care about anything involving him. But she could not ignore it, no matter how much she seemed to try to shut her ears and eyes.

Her only form of relief from the torment of Hades came in the form of her new best friend, Hermes. The messenger of the gods was not only funny, but he was charming as well, complimenting Persephone on every little thing about her so that she was instantly charmed by him.

They spent almost three hours a day beneath a willow tree outside her cottage, talking and laughing and sharing stories. It was through Hermes and his sparkling brown eyes and crooked, boyish smile that Persephone began to forget all about Hades and the thoughts that had plagued her on him.

At least, Hermes had been her escape until one day in particular, when they were beneath their favorite willow tree, and Hermes brought him up.

"So what exactly happened down in the Underworld between you and Hades?"

There it was, said straight and directly, with no colorful words to try to lessen the meaning. Persephone tensed, the question feeling like an arrow to her heart as she slowly picked her head off of Hermes shoulder where it had been resting.

Slowly she looked at him, her blue eyes wide as a faint flush covered her fair cheeks.

"W-What?"

"You heard me, Persephone. What happened between you and Hades?"

At the sound of his name she inhaled sharply, letting out her breath in a faint hiss as she looked down at the ground, at her tanned knees and calves below which her simple white dress fell.

"Why do you want to know?"

It was his turn to pause, and from the corner of her eye she saw him blush slightly.

"I just…I just do, ok?! Now…Please, tell me."

For a moment, she considered keeping her mouth shut, until she realized that since her return those weeks, perhaps even months ago, no one had asked her about it, about him. She could finally say something… Should she use the opportunity? She had so much to say…

"Well…I mean, there's not much to say. He kidnapped me, forced me to be his bride…What don't you know?"

"Your feelings," was the response, said so firmly that her heart turned over in her breast. "I want to know how you feel about him; he made it perfectly obvious how he feels about you!"

For some reason, the urge to deny that jumped to her throat.

"No you don't, you don't know how he feels at all! How could you possibly know if you weren't there, if you aren't him?"

"But Persephone, it's so obvious that he loves you!" Hermes cried, "I mean, he forced you to be his bride, and tried to keep you down there—"

"Yes, but those aren't his feelings; they are just what he did!" she interjected, "He could not like me at all, and just….I don't know, maybe he was just lonely!"

"Lonely?" Hermes snorted, "Well, if he was just lonely he did not have to kidnap you, but just talk to you!"

"But maybe he was afraid! Maybe he was frightened of me rejecting him!"

"Well that makes sense," Hermes sneered, "Who wouldn't reject him?"

There was silence following that comment, as inside her chest Persephone's heart felt so big that she thought it would burst. She could not believe the way Hermes was acting, so callous towards her husb—

The lord of the dead. Hades may have been on her hate list, but she thought that he did not deserve the vile tone in which Hermes spoke of him, did not deserve the insults.

"To have you know, Hermes," she said quietly, "Hades was the perfect gentleman when I was down in the Underworld. He—"

"You call him Hades?" Hermes interjected, "Not _Lord_ Hades?"

"Well, he was my husband!" she snapped, scowling at him, "It would have been awkward if I would have called him anything else!"

"Of course it would have!" Hermes grimaced, "Because things were _so _not awkward already, with him forcing you to be his wife!"

Persephone had to shut her eyes for a moment, had to resist the urge to throttle the god sitting next to her. Why was he being so cruel? So…resentful?

"Hermes, can I ask you: Why do you care?"

"Well, I…You're my friend, and I was just curious…"

"Well, don't be curious, ok? What happened between _Lord _Hades and I is none of your business, and you need to remember that."

With that she stood, the shadow of the tree falling over her white dress and making it dark as she began to walk away from him, ignoring his protests as he flew to his feet and called after her.

"Persephone, wait! I'm sorry, just please come back!"

At the edge of the meadow she stopped, the shadows still falling across her as though they were following her, and cast a sad look over her shoulder with dark blue eyes, the sun in them appearing to be covered with clouds.

"Hermes, you know when you asked who wouldn't reject him. Well, I didn't. I didn't reject him."

She walked away from him, heart heavy, and spent the rest of the day indoors staring at the wilting indigo flower inhaling its lovely scent.

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Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you to all those who reviewed, you inspired me to keep writing this story! I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations though.

Please, keep on reviewing! 


	5. Glimpse

_The Last Bite_

_Chapter 5: Glimpse_

_Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own the myth of Hades and Persephone, and this story is just for fun and amusement, so…Be amused! _

Since that conversation that sunlit day in the meadow with Hermes, Persephone began to find that her whole perception on things began to become…altered. It was as though her argument with that one god had opened her eyes to all the others and the many flaws they had.

Persephone had grown up seduced by the beauty of the Mt. Olympus, the beauty and grace of the gods and goddesses she was blessed to be around. Back then, she had never been able to find a fault in all she was around; the forests were lovely beyond compare, and the gods and goddesses she adored for al the generous things they always did for her, the way they spoke and moved and commanded.

But now…As an adult, having been swept away into an entire world where beauty was in fire and life was in the souls of the dead, she saw it all now as a gilded illusion, a mockery of what true beauty was.

The fields were ripe with the greenest of grasses, the loveliest of flowers, but what had it taken to have them grow there? Grass and flowers and such pretty things, she now knew, were forged by blood and war and dominance. The forests were lovely because the gods did not associate with them much; and the things the gods did touch…

She saw it all in a new light. Aphrodite was indeed lovely, with her golden hair and perfect face, but inside she possessed a soul that belonged in the deepest pit of Hades. To Persephone, now she was just as ugly as Cerberus. She played men—mostly human men—all for the thrill of it; as the goddess of love, Persephone wondered, did she ever actually feel love herself? Although the goddess could have her kind moments, Persephone could not help but notice how increasingly rare they were.

The king and queen of Olympus themselves—the great Zeus and kind, nurturing Hera—even had problems. There was no mistaken Zeus's lust for women or Hera's jealous anger over it. Zeus repeatedly went down to the earth in some form or other to seduce an unsuspecting mortal woman, and as a result a hero, a male possesses the powers of a god but the life of a mortal, was born. What did they call them? A hero…

Persephone, since when she had been a small girl, had marveled over the concept of a hero. What made a hero? She knew what the traits had to be, and she knew that he had to be handsome, kind, generous, fierce, doting, powerful…

And now, every time Persephone thought of a hero, Hades face, from the bottom of her heart, rose up and attacked her. She did not want to think of the dark king as her hero, but yet…How could he not be considered one? He had always been so affectionate to her, so charming and kind…

And there it was again, the pain in her heart that she could not seem to erase, the pain the only grew as the days went by. The pain she had come to associate with the god she had left behind, a pain that only he brought on, that aching hole in his chest that burned. She had tried so hard to ignore it, but the flaws of the gods and goddesses around her only made her yearn for him more.

She still had not talked to Hermes, and her mother, though she loved her dearly, was beginning to drive her crazy with her overbearing attitude. She watched Persephone like a hawk, treated her as though she were a child again, just as everyone else did. Everyone else, including him…

She had not forgotten that night in the meadow of narcissuses, the night where he had hurt her with his words, called her that damned word. Although he had not said it out loud, although it had not been obvious, what he had meant was there. To him she was still so naïve, so innocent. But now…When would everyone just realize that she wasn't?

She knew the ways of the world, had learned from the other gods, from those traveling through the forests, what earth was like, what strange creatures dwelt there and what mankind succeeded and fell in.

She knew of Hercules and Perseus, knew of the gorgons and the sirens and all the animosity and bloodshed they caused. She knew a lot of things; after all, she had lived in the Underworld for awhile, and there had seen so many sights, both gruesome and thrilling, learned from the lost, dead souls such fantastical tales…

So now that she was back on Mt Olympus, once again sheltered from all of those marvelous stories, isolated from the world, she was starting to…resent it. She wanted to just leave almost every day now, to flee back to that fantasy, to get away from the vindictive and awfully cunning and deceiving gods and goddesses, escape to a dark fantasy…

But she could not, and she knew it. Her mother, it was always her mother and her soft, sweet smile that halted all of Persephone's ambitions, left her once again the child that she was beginning to feel they expected her to be.

Compliant, yielding, quiet, perfect…

Here, on this mountain, she was not the wife, the woman, Hades had made her into. The woman who's spirit had reflected the color of her hair was gone, dying with each day Persephone spent in the sun, burning away under Apollo's merciless rays, left to shrivel inside as her mother smiled her soft smiles and held her back, tethered her to the sky and away, too far away, from the ground and the world that resided beneath it.

A world only he knew, a world that, as she was slowly beginning to realize, she missed. It was absurd; who could miss Hell? It had been dark and cold, the creatures had been frightening, the shadows, the screams of torment shocking…

And yet, despite that all…It hadn't mattered because…He had been there. Her dark king, her loving husband, the god who was shunned for his kingdom alone, an outcast because of something he had not been able to control. It was wrong, unfair, just like everything else that Persephone was witnessing up on Mt Olympus, the deeds and foolishness of the divine beings.

Her whole world was shifting, she knew, and she did not have a clue as to what to do about it. She longed for the simple days, before Hades had abducted her from that meadow, before she had seen the darkness and fallen for it, fallen into it.

Fallen for it…

But yet, still…Still she could not regret. What she had seen, who she had been with… She could never regret her husband, her dark counterpart, her…Hades.

Even as her world changed, even as her views altered and the truth in it all came out bitterly, Hades, and what he was beginning to mean to her, would never change.

Never.

She didn't even know the extent of her feelings for him, or what she thought about him, but…

Only time would tell, and if she was lucky, that time would be short.

--

He watched her.

Day after day he followed her, watched her from the thickets, listened to her laugh and talk and simply be. He knew it was wrong—god did he ever—and he knew he had no right. She was free of him and his darkness now, and he had no right to bring it back to her.

He knew that he was shrinking his duties as the king of the dead by stalking her, watching her with eyes glazed with love. He should have been down judging the dead, should have welcomed them, made sure that all was running smoothly, and yet…He could not. Not so long as she, the beautiful young goddess of the spring, was on his mind.

She still haunted him, even as he watched her.

All her little actions tempted him; the way she tossed her hair, the way she turned her face up to the sun, giggled to shelf adorably for no reason, chewed the right corner of her mouth… He knew all of her quirks without her even knowing it.

He knew that she liked to take a walk through the forest with Pan in the morning, and after lunch go pick flowers in the meadow. She gardened with her mother outback every evening, and made frequent trips up to the great hall of the gods to see everyone. Or at least, she used to.

She had stopped visiting them. He had noticed it after several days, noticed how she almost ardently avoided the great hall and the abundance of joyful gods and goddesses it contained. He could not, for all of his immortal life, understand it; hadn't she had friends there…?

He had also not missed the way she was specifically avoiding Hermes, and it made his heart lift as much as it made his confusion grow. He had known that Hermes had always had affection for Persephone, and had thought that soon he would make his move on her. But now she was avoiding him, hiding every time she heard him call her name and being downright cold to him whenever he did manage to track her down. He could not understand it…

A large part of him, the selfish, hopeful part that he could never seem to get rid of, hoped that it was because she had denied Hermes's advances. But he knew, in the pit of his stomach, on that shady, black spot on his soul that came with controlling the dead, that that could never be the case.

After all, why deny Hermes? He was handsome, with his perfect curled blonde locks and sparkling blue eyes, and he was Zeus's right hand man. Surely he would always be able to provide her with what ever she wanted. Love, care, riches…sunlight…

That was just it, sunlight—the defining factor. In Hades world, there was no sunlight, and never really would be. And Persephone, the goddess of spring…How could she survive without sunlight to nurture her? Hermes was perfect for her—her golden boy, the perfect person to provide her with warmth, and the sun, and the sky…everything Hades lacked.

Hades could not hate Hermes for it just as he could not resent Persephone for it. It was surely for the best after all, and they really did make a lovely pair, all sunlight and smiles…

He was torturing himself, wasn't he? Hades had figured that out long ago, when he had first left the Underworld to lurk in the shadows of the world to spy on her, drink in her beauty like a starved man and become poisoned off of it.

More than once he felt the urge to just kidnap her again.

As he watched through the leaves as she wandered around a clearing near him, humming a lovely tune to herself, he was painfully aware of how easily it would be. To just take her as his again, take her back down to share in his darkness, to be his queen and smile at him, and only him, for endless days.

It was a dream, a chance, and a fantasy that he could not take.

To take her would mean doom for mankind, which would result in an even bigger amount of souls in the Underworld. It had been bad enough when he had first taken Persephone and Demeter had cast her spell across the earth; the drop in temperature had cause far too many deaths, nearly as many as one year in one day. It had been a mess, one which Hades, despite Persephone's beauty, her allure, was hesitant to repeat. For if he shrank from his duties…

But he was already doing that, wasn't he? Watching Persephone now, stop and rest against a tree with an apple in her hand and a smile on her face, was causing trouble below him in his realm. Sure, he had plenty of officials to work for him, but still…He simply did not belong on the earth. He could almost see the shadows surrounding him darken in his presence, see the leaves on the trees wilt and the grass shrivel up and die.

Death was his biggest accomplishment, and he wasn't even Death himself. It made him want to laugh as much as it wanted him to cry.

The sun hurt his eyes, the rays burning into his back, his darkened soul as he continued to watch her though eyes that adored, his mind pulling him back to the Underworld as his heart tried to yank him forward even closer to her.

What could Hades do but hide in the shadow of a stately tree and watch?

She sighed, and the sound was a caress to his heart. The juices of the apple ran down her chin as she sank her perfect teeth into it, and he wished that he could just go to her and wipe it away.

Oh how he loathed how peaceful she looked, how content. Even if she was acting strange when it came to the other gods and goddesses, it was apparent that she still enjoyed the earth and the sun and all that it had to offer. There was no possible way he could ever lure her back to his darkness and death.

He was too busy watching her, drinking in each of her flawless features, to notice the figure approach her reclining form until they were right beside her, and the bright blue eyes that he could stare into forever for turned up and widened.

"Mother!" Persephone exclaimed, jumping to her feet as from the shadows Hades glared at Demeter's back.

Leave it to Demeter, the over obsessive mother, to ruin it all!

"Persephone." He could not see the goddess's face, but he knew that she was smiling at her daughter. "I've been looking all over for you! What are you doing all the way out here?"

Hades heart skipped a beat at the light blush that danced across Persephone's fair cheeks as she looked down sheepishly. "Sorry mother, I just wanted to get away from things for a bit. You know," she gestured around absently with her hand, "Enjoy the fresh air."

"You don't have to go all the way out here to get fresh air on Mt. Olympus dear," Demeter admonished as Hades rolled his eyes. She disapproved of _everything_, didn't she?

"Oh, I know…But the walk was nice," Persephone feebly replied, and Hades could not help but notice the small blush that blossomed on her cheeks, and raised a brow.

"Oh Persephone," sighed Demeter, and Hades barely, just barely, saw the woman he loved flinch at that, and a frown shadowed his face. What was wrong…? "You should know not to just walk off on your own by now," Demeter continued, seeming oblivious to the dark look that was crossing her daughter's face. But Hades saw it, saw the flush creep into her cheeks, her eyes flash, and had never seen her more stunning.

"I mean, with what happened last time…"

Hades tensed, immediately knowing what she was referring to as he glared at her back, his hands curling into fists at his sides as a pang of guilt went through him.

He watched Persephone's expression carefully as she stood up, tossing her apple away and keeping a blank look on her face. He despised that blank look, her flat eyes, knowing that she was keeping whatever she was feeling hidden from her mother, from…From him. And it hurt. It hurt like, well, hell.

"I'm sure I'll be fine now, mother," Persephone relied in what Hades could barely distinguish as a strained voice. It filled him with both curiosity and trepidation as he leaned more towards the shadows, resting against the tree as he watched with bated breath and a racing heart if she would say more. But she only stayed silent, standing there in the sunlight with that light flush on her cheeks and her eyes still flashing and clouded.

"But dearest, you don't know that! I mean, when…_he_ abducted you then, you did not expect it; this time, I'm sure you won't expect it either," Demeter protested in a concerned voice, "Besides, you're walking straight towards the cave that leads to his realm! Surely sweetie, that is not wise!"

He lifted a brow slowly, digesting the information that they were near the western caves that really did lead to the Underworld, only a mile or so away. The curiosity inside of him began to twist around and burn as he wondered as to exactly why she had been walking this way. Reason told him that it was because she simply had not known it, but instinct…By the way that she was not really reacting to her mother's news, staying silent with her clouded eyes, he had the acute feeling that she sis in fact know where she had been heading, and had not…Dare he hope it, but she had not wanted her mother to stop her.

If he believed hard enough he could almost mistake the darkness in her eyes to be from that of disappointment. But he did not dare himself to believe hard enough. He had seen no just cause for Persephone ever to want anything to do with him again, especially after their last meeting during the night where she had cut off all ties with him, friendship or otherwise. He was just a bad memory to her now, perhaps an occasional nightmare that gave her insomnia. He did not want to believe that way, but he was far too realistic and not quite deluded enough to ever believe otherwise.

"There's a cave near here that leads to the Underworld?" Persephone asked casually, and Demeter stiffened as Hades closed his eyes in silent grief. Of course she had not known…Now she would turn and hightail it back to the mountain with her mother to celebrate nothing with all of the other gods again. It made him scowl; they did absolutely nothing on that Mountain other than cause trouble and listen as mortals praised them. If anything, he was oddly happy that he had to Underworld; at least down there it was peaceful and isolated.

"Yes, there is, but that shouldn't matter my dear, it's not like you'll ever use it!" Demeter chirped, and Persephone just looked down at the ground, her eyes, almost unconsciously, shifting towards the west as her brow furrowed in thought. More than anything Hades wished he possessed the powers to read minds now, just to know what it was she was thinking, feeling. She had used to be such an expressive girl, before…Before he had returned her to the world that she was supposed to adore. And she did adore it still…Didn't she?

No. She had to still love it here, on Mt. Olympus with all of the foolish others.

Yes. She could never have second thoughts…

…could she?

"Come on dear, let's go see Artemis, I believe she has an announcement to make," Demeter said, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder and pulling her along.

For a moment, Persephone hesitated, her steps faltering as her eyes strayed away from her mother and the sunlight path in front of her to the trees, to the shadows, to…Hades.

And in that moment, the course of just a second, her eyes, so blue and big, met his, dark and red, watching her. Everything stilled, even, for that second, his heart. There was only Persephone, her lovely eyes on him, widening, her lips parting in a silent gasp…

And then she was moving away, her mother's grip on her arm tightening, dragging her away from the shadows, from his crimson eyes that haunted her, glinted after her as she turned her head, craning her neck to glance back at him, catch a glimpse of him…

But it was too late; he was already dissolving into the shadows as her mother pulled her back into the land of the light.

_So, what'd you think? Please review, cuz this chapter was pretty difficult to write, and it's my longest yet! _


	6. Challenge

_The Last Bite_

Chapter Six: Challenge

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Greek myths! _

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He had been watching her.

That fact, that thought, haunted her as she followed behind her mother dutifully, a lamb being led along by its tether, up the steep slope of Mt. Olympus. She was aware of nothing but the thought of the King of the Underworld's dark red eyes, eyes the color of blood, of love and lust; eyes that had been watching her from the shadows, watching her every move…

More than once she found herself glancing back, glancing all around her with a pounding heart. She knew that she wanted to see him again, and almost hated herself for it; he had abducted her, he had forced her to be his wife, he had insulted her, called her a child…

And yet…

And yet she still kept glancing hopefully behind her, eyes anxiously searching for a pair of crimson ones, her heart, her mind, everything drawn to the shadows that lurked in the corners of the fabulous mountain. The places she shouldn't be looking at…

"Persephone, will you hurry up!" Her mother's voice was like a blow to the gut, and Persephone's head whipped back around, wide eyes landing on her mother, who had stopped and was now facing her with a slight scowl on her face.

"What's been keeping you? You're slowing down!"

For a moment, Persephone was speechless. What could she say? 'Oh sorry mother, I was just too busy scanning the shadows for Hades to walk any faster.' No, that definitely would not go down well.

"Sorry mother, I was…I was thinking," she lied, and winced as she did so.

She hated lying to her mother, and rarely ever did…Until now. Like the darkness he controlled Hades was tainting her, darkening her once pure visage. Yet another reason to hate him and another reason to stop searching for him. Who cared if he watched her? As long as he didn't talk to her, come near her, he could watch her all he wanted….

…Why was that thought making her pulse flutter?

Yes, she knew why; she had known why before she had seen him watching her, before she looked over to those shadows to meet his piercing eyes. She had feelings for him, feelings that she could not entirely understand.

She loved many people in her life, surely, but had never felt…loved…like she did for him. She knew of the love of friendship, the love of family, but…that deep love that everyone strives for, that love that connected two people together for as long as they lived? The love that mingled with lust, with so many other vibrant emotions?

She knew nothing of that love, nothing at all. So how did she know what to do? How did she know even how she really felt? She could only search the shadows blindly for him and attempt, with all her might, to get over him, to just forget about him. Hades was beneath her…

"Thinking about what? Persephone, you've been acting strange lately…Is everything alright?"

She looked up into her mother's concerned eyes, saw those light orbs glimmer at her, as brilliant as the sunlight, and had to look away; they hurt her eyes…

"Everything's fine mother." Another lie.

Demeter frowned, obviously not pleased with the answer as she pursed her lips, and leveled her daughter with a stern look. "Please Persephone, don't lie to me; you've changed! You stay inside much more often, you wander off on your own, you've become more reclusive—"

"Maybe that's just who I am now mother!" Persephone could not hold back anymore, could not hide anymore as she glared daggers at her mother's lovely surprised face.

All those remarks that she had changed, of who she was now, had brought back the tormenting realization that she was still to be considered a child, even if she was a married woman, even if she was grown and ready to love her life. Her mother still considered—still wanted—her to be the past, her little girl who she could order around, who she could dress up and parade around and control. She was just a silly little girl…

"Mother, I've changed, don't you see!? I'm not a child anymore, I'm not the girl you raised; I'm a _woman_! Why won't you just accept that?!"

There was a pause, a heavy silence broken only by Persephone's heavy breathing as she watched her mother's face change with darkened blue eyes, her lovely pale face flushed red in anger. The emotions that flitted across her mother's tanned face, through her light blue eyes, were at first expected.

Surprise, shock, horror…

But then came the final emotion, a feeling Persephone had never experienced from her mother before, at least not when it was directed at her.

That lovely tanned face turned cold, the sunny eyes freezing up as her lips pulled taunt in a frown, a purse. Anger radiated off of the goddess in palpable waves that had Persephone, for all her claims that she was not a child, slinking back.

"Persephone, where did you get such silly thoughts?"

Her mother's comment was like a slap to the face. Silly thoughts… The hurt first washed over her, strong and stinging—salt to her wounds—before the anger kicked in, anger as fiery as her spill of red hair.

"How dare you say such thoughts are silly mother!" she all but growled, "Do you not believe that I am grown? Can you not see me?!"

Demeter's cold eyes raked over her body for a moment, searched her face. "I see only the daughter I gave birth to."

Persephone grit her teeth, her glare intensifying on her mother. "The girl you gave birth to _eighteen _years ago! Technically mother, I am now an adult!"

"Who says? I certainly don't. And the outburst you are having right now….Well…It points to the exact opposite."

She had never felt such dislike towards her mother before and the feeling, like her growing affection for Hades, startled her so much that she nearly forgot her anger. She and Demeter were not supposed to be like this, they weren't. Demeter was goddess of the seasons, of the vegetation, and she was her spring. She was the season that only happiness bloomed in, the season that most loved. She wasn't supposed to feel dark things like anger and hate and pain. She was supposed to be happy, compliant…

Once again Persephone was stuck by the extent of how much Hades had changed her. He had added winter to the spring that had been her life, and now the seasons were entwining into one great mess that was currently her. She wanted to please her mother; she wanted to yell at her mother for thinking her so weak. She wanted to be with Hades; she was afraid of what might happen if she gave into her wish.

Too many feelings, too many wants for her eternally young body to hold. She gave no response to Demeter, afraid of what she may say, afraid of what she may not. She could only stare in mute anger that she struggled to suppress at her mother, and will her to change the subject, to drop it so that this dislike she felt for her could go away. She wanted everything to be normal; she wanted everything to change…

It took a moment or two of silence before Demeter finally seemed to get the hint, dropping her stern expression with a sigh and giving her daughter a small smile.

"Listen to us two, bickering the day away! Persephone dear, we must start hurrying, for real this time; Artemis most likely will be making her announcement soon!"

Persephone could only sigh as her mother bustled on ahead of her, picking up her pace but still managing to stay rather far behind. She went back to her searching of the shadows as they approached the great silver stairs that ascended to the thrones and tables, and ascended them to find that most of the gods and goddesses were all ready there, sitting in groups at the tables while the upper gods—such as Zeus, Hera Aphrodite, etc—sat up in their thrones looking every inch the gods that they were.

As Demeter led her over to a table she could not help but scan the entire room, still searching desperately for the dark god that was managing to somehow steal her heart. She was not surprised to find that he was not there, but her heart sunk a little anyways. Of course he wasn't there, she thought with a tiny scowl as she took a seat; they probably had not even invited him.

She was not naïve enough to think that Hades could ever be a part of this, these spectacular meetings a top Mt. Olympus. Hades was the God of the Underworld, the keeper of the dead, and these happy go lucky gods, like Dionysus and his addiction to wine, considered it to be evil, a dark subject that brought dark emotions that no one wanted to speak of, and especially feel.

So Hades was the leper, the reject when it came to the gods. He was friends with Discord, had all those who had done wrong in life serving him—criminals, murderers, thieves. No one wanted to associate with those souls, those who had done so wrong. And yet…

Persephone thought back to the time she had spent in that underground castle, of all the souls she had seen crossing the river of Charon, weeping and naked, huddled in small groups and trying desperately to find some solace of comfort in each other. Those faces, twisted in such despair…

Death changed people. Those who had arrived in the Underworld were not the same people as they had been in life, not at all. Faces that had once been nothing but sneers and cold smiles now wept, the strength life had given them abandoning them, leaving them as someone new, someone who saw the errors of their ways, someone who was regretful, saw the error in their ways….

Someone who needed to be punished. None of the gods on Mt Olympus knew about them, those souls who wept and huddled and pleaded for some kind of mercy, some kind of forgiveness that they could not have. The gods on Mt Olympus were oblivious to their plights, seeing them only as who they had been and not what they had become—a sniveling mound of human flesh with a soul that cried blood. None of the gods on Mt Olympus knew a damn thing about the Underworld, and what Hades had to deal with, how much strength he had. To see so many pitiful faces scrunched up in despair, to hear their haunting cries for forgiveness… None of the gods on Mt Olympus knew a damn thing about it.

There it was again, that feeling of dislike. It washed over her as she scanned the room full of smiling gods and goddesses, her own face pulled down in the exact opposite of their expressions. She looked a Zeus, she looked at Hera, she looked at Poseidon, she looked at Ares. Smiling, talking about vague mediocre things, such as the lives of the humans they watched over, sharing those souls secrets, telling all they had done gleefully. Her feeling of dislike deepened. She was not supposed to feel this way, not at all.

This was her family, she tried to remind herself, and you love them. But as her eyes flinted around the room, the heavy, dark feeling in her chest did not lift. So selfish…

"Hey Persephone."

She nearly screamed when a body unexpectedly plopped down next to he, a male voice greeted her in a quiet voice. For a moment, a brief, flashing moment she thought that maybe it could be Hades, and jerked around eagerly in her seat, heart rising…

…Only to fall pitifully when she saw that it was only Hermes, smiling nervously. The memory of their last conversation had her stiffening, her smile and greeting freezing on her lips as her bright stare frosted over.

"Hermes," she replied coolly, stubbornly looking away back over to where Zeus was trying to convince Hera to give him a kiss and Aphrodite was fixing her hair.

A period of tense silence followed, a silence in which Persephone was acutely aware of Hermes staring at her almost desperately and her mother's eyes shifting back and forth between them in a puzzled expression. She did not know about the fight, and Persephone didn't want her too. If she knew who it had been over… Well, Persephone was pretty sure that her mother would freeze the earth all over again in her cold fury.

Persephone willed Hermes with all her might to not say anything but of course the messenger god, eager only to make up, didn't get her hint as she pointedly turned her whole body away from him.

"Persephone listen, I was thinking of the conversation we had…"

Oh god. Persephone felt almost sick as her mother's ears almost visibly perked up, her eyes scanning Persephone's face before jumping to Hermes, expression mixing between eagerness and concern…

"I shouldn't have overacted the way I did, because you don't deserve it. _He _deserves it but you…You're just so innocent! He just led you on, didn't he?"

Horror and anger immediately began their combat within her as her mother's eyes widened at the accentuated he and Persephone felt her breath fall out of her. She could only pray to Zeus that her mother wouldn't figure it out…

But as for Hermes, she was fairly sure that she had never felt such anger towards someone that she did now. She just wanted to take his perfectly curled head and slam it into the table for being so goddamn stupid to think that Hades would ever be so cold as to ever lead her on, just as she would ever be so dumb as to allow him to ever do such a thing! Besides, Hermes had used that word again, the word she was quickly becoming to hate. 'Innocent...' Little innocent Persephone, was she?

Her eyes narrowed as she glared at Hermes from the corner of her eye. She'd show him innocent alright!

"Hermes," she called out to him, as sweetly as could be, in her bell like voice. Hermes, thinking her tone was one of forgiveness eagerly leaned towards her, his brought eyes so hopeful, his face shining…

"Hermes, do shut up about things you don't know. It has to be the most annoying thing ever to hear you blather on about a subject you're just clueless on. Or do you like to sound stupid?"

She got the satisfaction in seeing Hermes jaw drop before her mother's loud, astonished exclaim of "Persephone" cut the air, followed immediately by Zeus's boisterous laughter from his throne. All eyes snapped to their king as he wiped tears from his eyes and stared in amusement down at Persephone through his peels of laughter.

"My, my Demeter, when did little Persephone get so fiery?" he asked with a huge grin, and Demeter could only glare slightly at her brother as she sank down in her seat, blushing lightly as she muttered an "I have no idea."

And no one really did have any idea, did they? For a moment Persephone could feel all of the room's attention solely on her for the first time ever, and she was caught between feeling embarrassed and proud. She was happy that Zeus was seeing this new side to her, happy that it was finally coming out for everyone to see.

Look, she willed herself to say with her posture, her eyes; look what Hades did to me. I'm a woman now, I've changed…

"Well, she is certainly a lovely blossom now, I must confess," commented Aphrodite from where she lounged fanning herself idly on the chaise, and Persephone took glee in the flash of quick jealousy she saw go through the goddess of love's perfect gaze. She had never been quite so into how she looked but now, just because of that, she found that she wanted to be and sat up taller in her seat. A goddess now, she smiled to herself; a true goddess of the spring. If she had still be her child like self she would have giggled joyously.

The topic was changed just as Hermes was about to try to talk to her again, when Zeus stood up from his throne to address the room teeming with immortals.

"My friends and family, I am sure you know the reason for such a gathering; our dearest Artemis has some news she would like to share, a…conquest of sorts, if you wish to call it that. Artemis?"

The great god of the sky stepped away for the goddess of the hunt to take his place, her dark eyes, the color of the youngest sapling in the forest, scanning the room with that intensity that was all her own, eventually resting none to subtly on none other than Persephone.

Persephone could only blush lightly and stare bewildered as Artemis' lips turned up in a small smile, and she resisted the urge to stiffen as dread abruptly clawed at her insides. Something just did not seem right…

"My fellow immortals, I stand before you today to announce a new challenge for the unmarried gods of this room." Artemis announced in her perfectly level voice, and immediately a reaction was procured as s murmur spread throughout the room. Persephone could only stiffen further as her breath caught in her chest, her heart began to pound.

It couldn't be…

"As you know a certain goddess has recently turned into an adult, and therefore, she must find herself a suitable husband. For this, a challenge is in order…"

More murmurs as Persephone sank down in her seat, all her pride gone as Artemis, still smiling, no knowing that pain she was causing, smiled down at her, dark eyes bright, so burning…

"And whoever wins my challenge will win the fair Persephone, the goddess of the springs, hand in marriage!"

And suddenly Persephone wished that she was not so grown up after all.

_

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_

Yikes, it's been too long! I'm so sorry for those of you that waited anxiously for this; I have been so overwhelmed with work and drama lately that writing has been far in between for me! Well, hopefully now that my life is back in order I can finally start posting again!

_Again, I am so sorry! Feel free to yell at me in your reviews cuz right now I'm yelling at myself! _


	7. Wishing

_The Last Bite _

_Chapter Seven: Wishing_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Greek myths and all that shindig_

_I am so sorry this took so long to update! My internet crashed and I just now got it back up so immediately I'm sending this to all of you who love this story! Speaking of which, thank you, thank you thank you for all the reviews! I hope this chapter answers some of your questions and such! Enjoy! _

* * *

Although no one had told him about it, the god of the underworld had his sources; he knew that there was a meeting occurring up on Mt. Olympus. He just had no idea what it was about.

That was the problem with nymphs, he mused; they could never remember more than the bear minimum of information, their heads too wooden, too full of joy and love to think hard on anything else. Wasteful creatures, the bunch of them; it really was a no wonder that they loved Mt. Olympus, they belonged there.

Hades had never been a bitter man. Back all those centuries, millenniums ago when he had gotten the shortest straw and became the king of the Underworld, the place where the dead go, where all dies and darkness creeps, he had not been bitter. He had not let Zeus big plans and triumphant smirk get to him, had not let Poseidon's mocking get to him.

He had just went down to his new domain and started his job as the ruler without bitterness, envy, or any of those other ill emotions that people always thought him to be. He did have a bad temper at times, even he could attest to that, but beyond that…What reason had he to be jealous, to be bitter? He liked his cold shadows, he liked the seclusion. To be social a meaningless endeavor; to be full of wisdom, to know all parts of the world, to have control of power…that was far better.

So if he had it so much better in his cold dead land, why was he sitting in his throne now, glaring up at the ceiling and wishing, for the first time, that he could be up there among them in that perfect social setting, away from all the things that he loved. Because to be away from all of his wondrous darkness, all his countless riches, would mean that finally, at long last, he would be near her, the woman he was beginning to love above all of his dark land, all of his wisdom and wealth. He would trade them all in just to see her face, the face of his lovely Persephone.

He wondered how she was, sitting up there among those peacock gods and goddesses, and how they were treating her. And that was when he entered another phase he was unfamiliar with: jealousy. She was the fairest of all goddesses, in his opinion; certainly the gods would be ogling her by now, especially the messenger, Hermes. The blood began to burn in his veins at the mere thought of the boy. Before he had no reason to bear a grudge against Hermes, and now he definitely did. His rival in love…

It was still so odd to think that way, to think of love at all. Love had always been an area which had eluded him, among so many other happy things. His brothers, he knew, carried little affection for him; they only respected him for what he was, for what he controlled. They only respected him because he controlled the land all mortals feared and all gods loathed, the place where the moans of the dead echoed hollowly around, filled ones ears with the very essence of death. His home, so far from love…

When she had lived with him in his dark palace, her light, the sheer radiance of her, had driven off all thoughts, all feelings of death from the palace. She had made it into a place he hadn't really recognized, but enjoyed nonetheless. A place that he wanted always with him, as much as he wanted her always with him. To get rid of the darkness and fill it with her light, as she was doing to his soul, the hollow recesses of his heart. A palace once so barren slowly coming into the light…

Oh god, he was thinking of her again, thinking of her without meaning too. It had been happening too much lately, especially now, after she had met his eyes….

He was reliving it again suddenly, that stolen moment only a few minutes—or hours—ago, he in the shadow, she in the sun. That backwards glance over her shoulder, those lovely blue eyes, as clear as the sky he never really saw, burning into him, wide, inviting...

And that was what had gotten to him, what was still getting to him. Her eyes… They had held, as they met his own, as she beheld him, no traces of the disgust he had prepared himself to see, no traces of her previous anger towards him.

That anger… It seemed like ages ago, that brief conversation in the meadow of narcissuses that had gone so horribly wrong. She had wanted to see him, and he had insulted her, scared her away again, the poor lamb fleeing from the wolf. He still had not forgiven himself for that. He wished he could talk to her again, attempt to apologize, explain, but in his dark heart he could not find the will to hope.

Although…

His mind flashed back to that brief look, that one instant where he had seen her again, that gaze devoid of hate, of any emotion of ill will...

He could not understand it; wasn't she supposed to hate him? After all he had done to her, he deserved nothing less than her hate. Kidnapped her, forced her to be his bride, tried to trick her into staying forever…

He still regretted that, that pomegranate. Surely she had asked about it, and surely her mother would have given her the proper answer. A way for her to never leave, an eternal life with her held in the seeds of the blood red fruit that held such sweetness. That had been all he wanted, and everything she feared.

He still had mixed feelings about that pomegranate, what he had tried to accomplish from it, the result of her not eating it. In a way he was glad; if she had eaten that forbidden fruit than she would most likely hate him no matter what he did, forever cursing him to eternal damnation in the hell he ruled. And he simply would not have been able to bear that. Her anger at him in the meadow had been bad enough, and he was almost, in the slightest way, happy that she was angry at him, away from him. He simply could not trust himself around her.

Somewhere in the distance a soul was crying. He could hear the deep sobs that would tug at any mortal's heart; but he was no mortal. He sank down farther into his throne, into his thoughts of her—those delicious, forbidden thoughts—as the cries persisted, pressing a hand to his skull, to his cold forehead. Dead inside, dead outside, dead all around.

She probably hated it here, in this darkness among this screaming. Who wouldn't? She was the goddess of spring, and the Underworld was as far from spring as one could get. He had never blamed her for hating it; in fact, on some days when the cries went on for hours, when the flames hurt his eyes and the darkness grew too silent, he actually hated the place, felt like one of the mortals trapped here, preparing to face their fate, their punishment. But all of this was his punishment, and she was his worst punishment of all.

Sitting here, just pinning for her, still wondering what was happening far above him, through the earth, through the clouds, to the place in which he was forbidden. What was she doing? What was she wearing? Was she happy? Sad?

The questions never ceased, as loud and urgent as that far off cry of desperation, of despair. He couldn't know…

….Or could he?

A plan was forming, a risky plan borne from nothing but love. It blossomed in his brain like a flower in spring, and pulled at the edges of his mind, urgent, restless. There was a way…

But it was wrong, so wrong. If they didn't want him there, he shouldn't be there. But then, there were ways to be there, but be unseen…

The scream silenced as Hades stepped down from his throne and, with eyes sparkling like fire, left the room to retrieve the one thing that would bring him to her.

--

Persephone was frozen in her seat, and, she was vaguely sure, frozen in the chest. Her heart, immediately preceding the announcement, had simply stopped. She didn't know what she was feeling as applause rang out, as her mother's beaming face obscured her view of the grinning Zeus, the pleased looking Artemis, the interested Apollo. Everything was spinning suddenly, and she felt so miniscule, so lost within it all as she struggled to find her footing, to get past the barrier of her shock to just say what she felt.

…What did she feel?

Through roaring ears she heard the rest of the announcement.

"The challenge, gods, for Persephone's heart is not simple, I must admit. There are several tasks in which one must accomplish and these tasks can even make an immortal quake."

There were mutters of excitement, ripples of intrigue. Persephone felt as though she were sinking into an ever widening hole.

"The first challenge involves a special friend of mine," Artemis smiled, "A friend who never wishes to be caught. Arbela is a special sort of animal, a doe made of pure gold and fire. That is the first challenge."

More muttering, but this time Persephone could not hear it, her mind drifting at the word fire. Fire that leapt in a black castle, fire that smoldered in the darkest red eyes… Fire that heated the earth miles beneath it, with a god who possessed as much danger and intrigue as it did…

"And what's the second challenge?" Hermes spoke up next to her, and her thoughts of him were gone. A cold feeling seemed to grip her gut at the odd urgency she heard in Hermes voice, as though he couldn't be more intrigued…

"Patience, Hermes, is a virtue," Zeus laughed from his throne, "But do go on Artemis, what are the other challenges?"

"Well, there is only one more challenge after that, but it involves a great deal of work. For the last challenge, the god must seek out the Underworld and once there must steal, under Hades' own watchful eye, the prize he covets the most: his helmet of invisibility. Once the god has accomplished this, they must then use the helmet to steal some of Hades' riches and give them to the goddess Persephone as a gift, along with the helmet. After these tasks have been accomplished, the god may then take the lovely Persephone as a bride."

There was speaking again, shared ideas, looks of interest thrown at her, but Persephone was ignorant to it all. The moment they had said _his _name she had been lost; the challenge had involved, of all beings in this eternal world, _him_. It was so ironic, bitterly so; to involve her husband, the god who she was feeling strange feelings towards, the man who she had tried to escape from and now yearned for…

That was it, wasn't it? She yearned for him.

As her mother grabbed her hand and squeezed it in happiness, as the other gods and goddesses intently began to talk about their immortal lives, she could only think of him, only saw his face amid the masses, only heard his voice in the prattling of the others. Only him, only him, only him…

"Persephone?"

It was Hermes that drew her away from him, his voice a little too close to her ear. As she looked over with cold eyes she was startled by how close he actually was, how happily, how _intimately,_ he was smiling at her. The alarm bells went off in her head before she even realized it.

"Yes, Hermes?" He flinched at the coldness of her voice, and she found that she could not feel regret. Hermes was her friend, but still… He was so uncomfortably close, and what he had said about Hades… Why did she find it so hard to forgive him for that?

"Persephone, I just wanted to let you to know that…I-I…"

But he never got to tell her what he had planned, for that moment Demeter interrupted as the meeting was adjourned.

"Persephone dearest, let us return home, I wish to garden some more before Apollo sets the sun."

Who was she to deny her mother? With legs that shook slightly Persephone stood, her eyes lowered to the ground as she felt the stare of many gods on her. She felt like a piece of meat as she followed her mother away from Mt Olympus, only vaguely aware of Hermes following them on his winged feet.

So many feelings, so many things she could not understand… She was suddenly yearning for the presence of the god of the underworld, the same god who had kidnapped her and forced her to be his bride. Didn't she have any sense left? He was crude, he was… He was completely in love with her…

She could never forget the way he used to gaze at her, even when he knew that she had hated him. It had been so loving, so adoring, that it had made her uncomfortable back then, but now, as a woman… She yearned for it.

She wasn't aware of Hermes and her mother conversing, didn't even see where she was walking. She only knew that miles under the ground she was walking on he was there, in all his dark eternal beauty. He was there…

She went straight to her room when she arrived home, not hearing Hermes calling her name, not seeing her mother's concerned look. She wanted to talk to Demeter, but she couldn't right now, not with her head so jumbled.

Challenges to win her hand… She fell on her bed with a groan. Why did all of this have to happen to her? And why… Why couldn't the gods realize that she already had a husband? At least… She liked to consider it that way. How had she gotten here? From despising the man to almost…maybe…

She couldn't say love, not yet. Persephone had never loved anyone but her mother, but that love was natural, something that just happened. But this kind of love, the love between lovers, between husband and wives… For just that, she almost wished she were considered a child again. For now she only knew that she wanted to see him, sometime soon.

She got up from her bed only to take from her wardrobe a small, flat flower, pressed between the pages of an old diary. The petals had lost their brilliance, but the color had not faded, a deep midnight blue, just as the scent of it, although lessened still remained. So lovely, her new favorite flower, the narcissus…

She laid back on her bed with it pressed to her heart and the taste of, oddly enough, a pomegranate in her mouth. Outside her window she watched the sky darken, and under the flower petals her lips curved into a smile. As soon as night fell, she knew what she would do; she wanted to see him, and she refused to be deterred, not now. She had to talk to him, had to tell him that…

That night, Persephone, with the flower on her heart did not think once of the upcoming challenges for her heart, but of the god who was already winning it.

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Oops, hehe, another cliffhanger, sorry! But I will say that in the next chapter Hades plan will be revealed and you might just get to read his reaction to the challenge… And, of course, another meeting in the forest between the favorite couple! But yes, don't worry, I hope to update soon, hopefully by next week! Thank you for all that reviewed and just generally read this, you guys/ girls gave me the desire to write more! Thanks!


	8. Into the Dark

_The Last Bite_

_Chapter 8: Into the Dark_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Greek myths_

THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO REVIEWED! I never imagined this story would be so popular, ha. Hope you enjoy this chapter and sorry for the grammar and spelling errors!

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All she was aware of was the beating of her feet on the ground. Her feet sinking into the soil of the earth that her mother nurtured, denting it with her footprints, disturbing the careful peace with her racing heart, her heavy breaths. Branches tugged at her like her mother's own hands, telling her to stop, to turn around and go back to the cottage where she should be sleeping, where she should be dreaming of anything and anyone but him.

But she couldn't, not now; she was already almost there and the thought of turning around in truth did not make much sense to her. Why stop when she was already so far ahead? And why even think of going back when she knew now that she desperately needed to see him, if not just to talk to him, assure herself that he still had some semblance of feelings for her. To make sure that it wasn't too late…

It seemed impossible but she began to run faster, hurtling through the brush as mud splattered over her perfect white nightdress, staining it with the impurity that was slowly capturing her soul as the moon began to fade and the darkness grew, the shadows lengthened as she left the world of light behind. Not far now…

When she broke through into a clearing she stopped, panting, her wide eyes searching he shadows for the cave that would lead her to him, that passage into the Underworld that just yesterday her mother had told her to avoid. It was funny, really; her mother so thought that Hades would kidnap her again—she never would suspect that her daughter would go to him willingly. Become taken away by will… It made the smallest of smiles break out on her face, pale in the thin streams of moonlight that managed to fall through the canopy of trees. Only thin strips of light that would soon vanish entirely…

She forced her eyes to see through the darkness, to adapt to the shadows as she tried to take in all of her surroundings. She knew she was close to the cave, but she couldn't seem to find it. Blindly she began to walk, letting her instincts for the moment guide her as she began to reenter the forest, her hands flailing out against the rough bark of the trees, the cool feel of the vines, until she felt the rocky cool surface of what had to be the cave.

Her heart began to beat in overdrive as she stopped, breathless, and turned to face the dark chasm that was the entrance directly to her right, the shadows within it seeming to flicker at her, beckon her into the deep cool darkness that seemed so bottomless. It was like there was no floor in it at all, no walls, no base but just a perfect hole to fall into that would end with her in his arms.

And without a second thought she stepped forward, prepared to just fall into it, become consumed by the shadows…Until a hand stopped her.

Letting out a surprised yelp, Persephone was forced to pull back as she whirled around, her heart twirling in fear as she turned to face her attacker, and met the serious eyes of Hermes.

"Hermes?" she gasped in shock, completely taken aback as she removed her arm from his hand, her wide eyes fixed on his face that was only partially illuminated in the frail light. A million thoughts ran through her head, making her dizzy as Hermes continued to just stare at her, his light eyes seeming to darken as the seconds passed. Why was he here? Why was he staring at her like that? Why was he trying to grab her arm again?

She managed to jerk away from his grasp and take a huge step back, feeling vaguely intimidated by the look in his eyes as he dropped his hand to continue to stare at her. Licking her dry lips, Persephone mustered her voice to start working. "H-Hermes, what are you doing here…?"

"I think I should be asking you that question, Persephone," he answered rather coldly, sharply, and she took another small step back, hit by surprise.

"I…I…" She wished she could say that she was just taking a walk, but the cave that loomed next to them in all its darkness spoke otherwise and left her speechless. "I…Oh Hermes, I…"

"You were going to see him, weren't you?" His words were gruff, oddly harsh, and she flinched, looked down like a child reprimanded. She wished that she could tell him otherwise, but there was no use even trying to lie now, not with those accusing eyes on her. And so she picked her eyes up, inhaled sharply as she raised her chin and, in an expression of all the defiance she could muster within her, looked him directly in the eye as in the thin streams of light she nodded, and watched his face change.

"I see," was his only reply, a harsh bitten phrase that made the silence, thick and smothering, descend between them again. She wanted to tell him that she just needed to talk to Hades, but she couldn't find her voice with his eyes boring into her, threatening her without words. She was about to open her mouth to say something, anything, when he beat her to it.

"You know you're not supposed to go near him."

She swallowed hard, bit down her retort. "I…I just need to talk to him…"

"About what?" he all but demanded, and through her confusion, the awkwardness she felt, anger began to stir.

"Why do you care?" she demanded back, and watched as his eyes flashed.

"I care because I'm your friend."

"Oh, are you?" she raised a brow in challenge. "Because some days I don't think that you are."

"What?! Why?" he immediately rebuked, his eyes hardening as he stared almost…desperately at her. "I always look out for you—"

"Yes, you do, but sometimes it's too much Hermes! Why can't you just let me go do what I want?" She didn't realize her voice was rising, didn't notice the hurt look that flashed across his face as she let out the feelings she didn't even know she had started to feel.

"But Hades, Persephone, he's—"

"He's what, Hermes? You don't know because you haven't bothered to learn a thing about him!"

"What is there to learn?" He exploded, his face contorting in a way that made her take yet another step back, made some of her anger drain away. Hermes had never yelled at her before, and his face had never appeared so…violent. Not at her, never at her… "He's the god of the Underworld, he belongs with the dead! Why do you insist on bringing him to the surface?!"

And just like that, as it was falling away, the anger sprung back full force, a flame that burned brighter and brighter until it was burning her face, flickering in her eyes. And she had only one answer and one answer only for him.

"Because he's my husband."

Even in the low lighting Persephone could see the blood draining out of his face. In the silence she heard him swallow hard, watched with hard eyes as he tried to collect himself. "Husband?" he croaked, "No, no he's not. As soon as you left his realm your marriage was over…"

"Says who?" she challenged, and he scowled.

"Says everyone! Why else would there be a contest for your hand in marriage?"

"I never even wanted that damn contest in the first place! And no one, no one at all, ever even asked me what I wanted!"

"Fine then, I'll just ask now! Persephone, what do you want, hm? Or should I say _who_ is it that you want? I just…I just don't understand you! Hades kidnapped you, forced you to be his bride, and still you defend him, and now you're even trying to go back to him! Is he forcing you to do this? Forcing you to go back to him?" he urgently asked, and glaring at him Persephone shook her head.

"No, he has nothing to do with this! I just…I want to see him!" she yelled, and took some cold pleasure in seeing his face scrunch in a mixture of pain and fury.

"Why? Tell me why you have to see him!"

"Not before you tell me why you care!"

"Persephone, dammit we already went over this! It's because you're my friend—"

"That's a lie and we both know it!" she interrupted, her face a sheet of ice as she glared at him, "If you were really my friend, you'd just let me go."

"Let you go?" he gaped, "Let you go in there?! In that dark cave where the man who had kidnapped you lurks—"

"He's different now Hermes, he's changed!" she insisted. "He won't hurt me, trust me!"

Hermes fell silent for a moment, his eyes boring into her own with such intensity that Persephone almost felt like looking away.

"I do trust you Persephone," he said at length. "It's Hades I don't trust. If I let you go to him you might never come back up, and it would be my entire fault."

"You can't stop me from going into this cave Hermes," she replied evenly. "You can't control me."

"Persephone…" He sighed and she heard it distinctly, the change in his tone. As though he thought he was now talking to not a woman, but a child. And that, above all else, was the point in which she knew she had to get away from him and fall into that darkness.

"No, you know what Hermes? I don't know why I even wasted my time standing here talking to you. I'm leaving now, goodbye."

She expected him to stop her as she turned to face the entrance of the cave, expected his hand to dart out and grab her arm to prevent her from moving. And because she expected it, she prevented it by artfully dodging that hand that attempted to restrain her, wasting no time in pushing around him to run into the darkness, her bare feet pounding on the fresh soil and Hermes' cries the only thing she heard.

She knew that he would try to follow her, so she didn't slow her pace until the ground beneath her feet began to noticeably slope, until the temperature began to heat up as she went farther down into the earth. At length she did stop, breathless, in complete darkness, depending on her hand trailing along the hot stone wall to guide her down. She tripped a couple times, and she was sure that her feet, abused by the rocks, were cut up, but not once did she falter, not once did she look back to see if the light was still behind her.

Eventually the darkness began to dissolve as the orange glow of firelight began to emerge; cracks of fire in the rocks illuminated the stony, hot passage that led into his kingdom and her pace sped up as in her chest her very alive heart began to leap and bound. She was beginning to recognize where she was at and the excitement was taking shape, the anticipation. She knew that she would see him soon… And just from that thought she found that her legs were moving her forward in an almost run.

As she expected the cave ultimately led to the rocky shore where the lost souls were to wait, and immediately her eyes found the skeletal boatman Charon in his rotten gray boat resting on the shoreline. There were of course souls waiting to get on that boat, naked, crying souls who stared with hollow eyes at her as she appeared, huddled together in a throng so thick she couldn't tell one body from another. Feeling their dead eyes on her made her shudder, but she would not be swayed from her mission; with an eye turned away from them she bypassed them to stand right at the edge to the dark water, waiting for Charon to lift his shadowed face to see her.

When he finally did and slowly began to row towards her, she was fidgeting in her nerves and tapping her foot in impatience. Why did skeletons have to row so slowly?!

When he at long last reached her, she was there right away to demand access into his boat.

"Charon, you remember me, right? I'm…I'm the Queen of the Underworld. So listen, can you take me across the water to Hades? Please?"

For a moment, just a moment, she thought that she was going to be denied. Charon took awhile to answer her, his hooded face turning down to look at his boat and back to the shore, where the sobbing souls were lined up. She thought that he was going to say that because she wasn't technically dead she was not allowed passage. But as soon as these fears crossed her mind Charon bent his head in the tiniest of nods, and with a smile she clambered into the boat.

"Thank you so much Charon!" she sighed as the ferryman began to row. "I'm sorry to be such an inconvenience, I just really need to talk to Hades."

As expected the boatman of the dead made no response, and the rest of the journey across the lake of the dead was filled with silence and humming with her nerves. For the first time, as she stared into the dark water where the white faces of the dead reflected back up at her, she began to wonder if what she was doing was a good idea. He wasn't expecting her and what if he was busy? What if he didn't want to talk to her? Even see her? The doubt was setting in, a giant pressure in her stomach that only grew as the boat bumped to shore.

She even hesitated in stepping out of the boat, so much so that Charon had to extend one of his long, bony flesh less hands towards her to get her jumping out of the boat so that she was clear of it, forcing a hospitable smile on her face as the ferryman nodded a goodbye to her.

She stood there on the empty bank for a moment to watch Charon row off, and let her feet sink into the stony sand as she forced herself to relax. This had been her plan, and she was accomplishing it; why should she have any regrets? She'd just talk to Hades and then would see what would happen, and that was that. By the time she managed to work up enough courage to turn away from the dark water Charon and his boat had already faded into the dense mist that always hovered eerily over the water and she knew she was alone.

As she began to walk up the incline, following the stone path that would lead to Hade's dark castle, she tried not to hear those all too familiar screams that rose up in the distance, happy that the souls being punished were not in sight but far off the path she was on. Her only other obstacle to reaching Hades came in the form of the three headed beast called Cerberus who she had, over the months she had been captive, befriended.

The beast really wasn't so horrible once one saw beyond its deadly teeth and glowing red eyes, and could actually be a sweetheart. She reminded herself of that as up ahead the beast came into sight in all its intimidating glory, its triple growls all but shaking the fiery earth at her approach.

Swallowing the lump of fear in her throat, she put on her sweetest voice and addressed the hellhound. "Cerberus, it's ok, it's just me…."

The six black ears perked up at the sound of her voice, and the growls began to die away a little as she ventured another step forward, still talking softly to the beast. "Cerberus its Persephone; you remember, I gave you that big steak that one time? It's just me…"

And so it went on, her voice soft and airy and entrancing the three headed monster as step by step, inch by inch, she clung to the rocks that framed the area and edged around the beast. It wasn't until she was safely on the other side that she stopped talking, releasing the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as Cerberus just stared with all its eyes at her, fangs safely tucked away inside of its mouth as she hurried away down the ever deepening incline, practically stumbling in her hurry to see it, the castle that had been her home.

And suddenly there it was, just as she remembered it, looming on the horizon, a black fortress that spoke of power in all its gothic charm. It was funny to think of really; she used to be so afraid of this castle, and now…her heart leapt in an emotion she closely associated with joy. She couldn't seem to get there fast enough, her feet pounding on the barren earth as her breath, the only live thing for miles, and burst out of her faster and faster.

When she reached the iron gate entrance she was smiling, albeit nervously, as she stared at the great door that led into his home. Should she knock…? She raised a hesitant hand, bit her lip and tried to remember if there had been any servants. She had never really recalled anyone beside her in Hades, so that meant that he himself would eventually answer the door if she knocked, and that simply would not do. She needed to assure herself that he would at least hear her out instead of slamming the door in her face.

With a tentative hand she reached out and grabbed the cold door handle, allowing it to creak open slowly so that slants of darkness fell over the fire lit path. She took a moment to stare inside the doorway at the castle she had once been imprisoned in, watching the shadows dance a seductive waltz along the wall towards her, beckoning her inside. And, with a deep breath, she answered, her feet—bruised and sore from her long rocky journey—leading her into the foyer, along the winding hallways that were draped in gothic elegance.

It was exhilarating, almost shocking to see it all again, this castle that she used to think of as her tomb. Memory after memory—most unpleasant—bombarded her as she made her way through the twisting halls in the center of the Underworld, her heart beat a loud throb in the silence that seemed to press down on her, suck her in. All the days she had spent crying, the dreaded wedding ceremony draped in darkness, swirled in black…

The firelight bounced off her hair and sent a prism of light all her own around her, the only beacon she had as she slowly came upon it, the door to the throne room. She remembered distinctly, as she stared at the dark heavy door, the hours Hades had spent alone stalking in his throne room when they had been married, avoiding her as much as she had avoided him. His throne room, she knew, he had always considered the place he had felt the most at ease, the place where he could think the best. And she knew, deep in her heart, that today, just on the other side of the wood he was there, as he always had been, thinking, pacing….wondering about her…

She could only wish…

Deep breaths, the moment was upon her. She could hardly believe it, where she was, who she was about to see. Was she really here or was she still asleep in her bed? She didn't know which one she wanted to believe more. Anticipation vs. fear, determination vs. guilt. She had yelled at him, turned him away; what right did she have now to be here, about to see him?

But it was far too late to turn back.

And so, with one final breath of the smoky air that only Hades kingdom had, that familiar scent, the flickering shadows, the heavy silence, Persephone reached out and with one sharp pull opened the door.


	9. Darkening Skies

_**The Last Bite**_

**Chapter 9: Darkening Skies**

**Disclaimer: I don't own this myth, only this modified plot line! **

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Cold air was the first thing she noticed as she stepped into the dark room, the cold tendrils of it—so abnormal for the blazing heat that surrounded the castle—immediately making her shiver. And in her heart, almost immediately upon feeling the goose bumps break out on her arms, she knew that something was wrong.

It was nearly pitch black in the throne room, the torches looking oddly dim, the usual orange hue to them subdued to a darker color. Black fire. Her breath caught in her lungs as the feeling of trepidation, of worry and fear, swam up to nearly choke her.

She couldn't find her voice to call out to him, the god she knew was lurking in the shadows that took up the majority of the room. But something—the silence, the darkness, the flames—stopped her, and she could only stand frozen in the doorway, waiting for something, anything to happen.

Slowly from the shadows he began to emerge, the dark shadows lightening up as he stepped out into her sight in all his sinister beauty. She wanted to step towards him, wanted to run into his arms and never let go as she apologized over and over again for all she had done. But one look at his face—the face she had longed to see—and she could barely breathe.

His face was a mask of fury. From his blazing crimson eyes to his tightened jaw to his thinned lips, she knew that he was enraged. The only thing that she couldn't understand was why. Too many thoughts ran through her head as he took a threatening step towards her, and she was barely aware of stepping back into the cold massive door that led to the room, the door that she had just walked through. All she saw was his burning eyes, searing into her like actual fire, enough to make her heart start to not pound in joy at seeing him, but in fear.

What had she done…?

"Persephone," Her name was just a growl, and she flinched, unused to the dark anger that rolled off of him as he slowly but steadily approached her shaking form. Had she been anything less than a woman, if she had still considered herself the child that everyone seemed to want her to be, she probably would have fled by now, turned and raced back through those doors and out of the stone castle, racing back up to the land of the light as she left him behind forever. But she was not that girl anymore.

She stood her ground as he stopped in front of her, and even though he was several inches taller than her, even though she was almost visibly trembling, she turned her face up and met his eyes evenly with her own bright ones, forcing the fear down as she stared into the face of the man who had made her a woman.

"Hades."

Her voice seemed to undo him. With a sound that sounded like a snarl he pushed her back up against the door, his cold hands on her shoulders digging in enough to make her gasp, to make her eyes widen as she stared up at him. A heartbeat passed. Another. Persephone wished she could have appreciated the fact that she was near him more, but the burning eyes that still scalded into her face kept her suspended in her fear, her shock, her longing to understand…

"Please tell me it isn't true." She nearly jumped at the abrupt sound of his voice after such an intense silence, her wide eyes blinking up into his as he shook her lightly, the scowl on his lips becoming more pronounced as he bit out again, "Tell me it isn't true!"

"Tell you w-what isn't true?" she managed to whisper out, a mere whisper that sent blood rushing to his pale cheeks, his hands tightening on her shoulders until it was almost painful, until she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out.

"Dammit, you know what I'm talking about, I know you do! Just answer me!"

Persephone would never truly know how it happened, or why it happened. She supposed that it had just been the entire night—the conversation and fight with Hermes, the stress of the challenge—that finally broke her, the orders that had been given to her by so many—too many people. Persephone do this, Persephone do that, Persephone was always taking orders…

It was time to just fight back.

"What do you want me to say?!" her voice pierced the silence, loud, distilling. Hades in his shock forgot his anger for a moment, blazing eyes blinking in shock, and it was the only opening she needed as she pushed away from him, away from the door, and let her own anger take control.

"I came all of this way just to see _you_, and then suddenly your yelling at me?! What did I do, Hades? What did I do!?"

Her voice echoed around the empty room like a force, falling upon them like a weight as her glowing eyes met his blazing ones, widened in shock. In for a second time seemed to stop before Hades shock melted away as his anger returned to him, and immediately he fought back.

"You should know, dammit, you were there! You were there among all those other so called 'divine gods', sitting on their gleaming thrones as they laughed about nothing and attempted to sell you to the highest bidder like a cow!" he snarled, "I thought you had more goddamn respect than that!"

As he spoke it slowly began to make sense, the mystery unraveling itself from her brain as she continued to stare into his dark face. "Your talking about the challenge, aren't you?"

Apparently, by the way his face contorted in wrath, that had been the wrong thing to say. "What else could I be talking about, you foolish girl!? It is a challenge that lacks morals, lacks common sense, and like an airhead, like a little fool you just simply agreed to it!"

"What choice did I have?!" Persephone fought back, knowing full well that there was no more going back to the meek self she had been. "My mother was there, watching me expectantly, and I was in shock!"

"And you couldn't disagree afterward, when you were leaving Mt Olympus? I know you weren't in shock then, dammit, by the way you were batting your eyes at that boy Hermes—"

"Hermes has nothing to do with this!" she cried in protest, "And how can you just assume what I was feeling? You shouldn't have even seen it, you weren't invited! What, did you follow me there?!"

Persephone could tell just from his expression that he had, and her dark look deepened. "You followed me?!"

"No," he growled back, "I didn't know that the assembly would be about you—I was merely curious, so I used my helmet of invisibility to see what it was going on. If I had known what the topic would have been about ahead of time though, I would have done everything in my power to have stopped it!"

"Stopped it?" she yelled back, "Tell me Hades, what would have made you want to stop it? Would it have been for my honor? And how would you have stopped it, by kidnapping me again?! You shouldn't have even been there in the first place!"

"Yes, I had every right to be there! Or, Persephone, do you already forget the fact that you are my wife?!"

In her own anger she forgot all she had come to the Underworld in the first place for and shouted out the words that she had wanted so hard to believe were not true earlier that day, in the land of the light.

"You are not my husband!"

And just like that the anger was gone as the reality of her words, shouted in fury, sunk in. She watched in pain as the anger flashed to hurt across the handsome planes of his face, before all together all emotion vanished to leave her staring into cold eyes and an expressionless face.

"Hades—"

She reached out to him, but he stepped back, avoiding her, escaping from her pained eyes, her apologetic face as he turned his back on her and began to walk away.

"You are right Persephone," he stopped at the door on the other side of the room, still not facing her. "I am not your husband, so therefore whoever wins your hand in that silly contest should not matter to me. However…"

She felt her heart lift in her chest as he glanced back over his shoulder at her, and she could barely repress the gasp that formed in her chest at the utter pain that painted his face. Those red eyes searing into her, burning her up…

"However, know that no matter what, you little fool, I will always have feelings for you, and although I have no idea why you came down here to see me, know this: you must leave. It is not proper for a young goddess to be in the realm of a god who is not her husband, let alone a god who she has no feelings for. Leave now, before you are discovered."

"Hades—"

But it was too late, and he was already leaving. Persephone slumped back against the door as the tears began to fall down her cheeks, tears of the spring that splashed to the dead ground with a dull thud. She could not believe how wrong this meeting had gone, how she had just let him get away, defenseless, silent, watching him just leave…

What was wrong with her? Why had she fought back? Why was she…Why was she such a little fool? To do nothing to reassure him, to say nothing of her feelings… She could suddenly understand all too well why he had so abruptly left her; he probably thought she had just come to gloat at him, to break the news that she was marrying someone else for him. He thought that she was only a cold hearted bitch…

Something had to be done. She wiped furiously at the hot tears that were falling, biting them back as she straightened up, inhaled deeply. She could not fall apart like a child, she could not just let him get away with walking out on her like that. He had just assumed, like everyone else, that she still hated him, still feared him. Determination coursed through her to show him otherwise.

With swift strides she walked the distance across the dark throne room, no longer aware of the shadows that followed her, and opened the door that he had walked through, intent on following him. And not once did she look back.

--

He found himself in the garden—or, at least, what could be considered a garden in such a desolate place. Really it was only what could be considered a courtyard, the cold, decayed stones echoing dully under his foot falls. There were no flowers to brighten the edges of this courtyard, no butterflies and sunshine. The trees that bordered it were leafless, vacant branches that reached up to the dark sky as though they thought they could break through it to the light above. Flowerless stems, black flowers that curled in on themselves…

The area itself was the perfect reflection to his feelings. Hades was fairly sure he had never felt so dead inside. He thought that seeing her would bring the light back in his life, but instead it only brought pain. At first, upon seeing her standing in the doorway, he had felt it, the familiar feelings of adoration and love that always swept him away at the sight of her perfect blue eyes, her fiery hair. But those feelings had quickly evaporated when he remembered all that he had heard up on Mt Olympus when he had been invisible. When he remembered the competition that had torn his heart out…

He scowled up at the dark sky of his domain, wishing that the scowl could somehow work its way through the earth up into the sky, where it could connect with Hermes. Hermes, that fluttering twit who dared try to make a move on Persephone. Hades was not blind; he clearly saw the way the messenger guy had cuddled up to Persephone, the adoring looks he had given her. And while Persephone never really reciprocated the looks, she did not try to prevent them, either. And just from that, the seed of doubt had been planted in Hades' heart.

What if she was developing feelings for the boy? He could not forget the fear that had crossed her face when he had stalked towards her in the throne room, consumed by his anger, his jealousy. He had never had good control of his anger, and around her, the person he adored the most, it tended to lash out more than he intended. So much so that now he had scared her away, perhaps forever. Even though she had fought back…

But that had been in self defense, he could tell. In defense under the assault he had attacked her with. He regretted it, he did, but he knew that there was no going back; she had made her choice all those weeks ago when she had left him for her mother, for the light. There was no going back, there was nothing more he could do, he could offer; she was probably, quacking in fear, half way back out of the cave by now, her heart crying for her precious Hermes…

How wrong he was.

Hades was too lost in his dark thoughts to notice the slim figure radiating light approach him. When he finally took notice to her presence, finally looked down from the bleak sky, he was stunned.

Before him, eyes glowing with a blue fire, stood the very woman he had thought he had scared away forever, the very woman that he loved with every cell of his dark being. She stood before him in radiance, her eyes fierce on his face, drawing him in even as he resisted.

"Persephone…"

"You never let me get in a say," she replied in the lowest of tones, and he could only stand there as she suddenly reached out, grabbed the front of his black robe in her tiny, tanned hand. He could only continue to stare at her as she pulled herself up on it, balanced on her tippy toes until she was a breath away from his face, and all he could see was her eyes, as bright as the sky he could never have…

"So instead of saying anything…" she whispered, her breath tickling his face, washing over him as he stood frozen, breath caught, heart still in his chest. She couldn't…What was…?

"I'm going to show you…"

And her words dissolved in a gust of hot breath as her lips, so soft, so perfect, met his.

* * *

So…I know I have a cliffhanger problem, and I wish I could get around it but hey, it keeps attention, ha. But really, I'm sorry if cliffhangers offend you—trust me, sometimes they bother me! But I want this story to be captivating, and I don't know, I like the reader to imagine how the scenario would end before I write more. In fact, if you have any thoughts for the next chapter please don't hesitate to tell me through—what else—a review! Thank you!


	10. Spring and Winter

_The Last Bite_

_Chapter 10: Spring and Winter_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Greek myths, I'm just using them for fun._

* * *

They had kissed before, most definitely, but it had only been once before, on the day of the wedding. She had been in tears of hate, and although he had been happy, seeing her pain had hurt him to. So that kiss had been bitter, wet, full of the pain she had then been feeling and the suffering he had always felt. It had been quick, over before anything could be felt, and she had turned away from him, then openly weeping as they were proclaimed husband and wife. And that, that tear filled kiss, had been it.

He had tried to kiss her again after the wedding, tried desperately to get his wife to feel something other than hate for him, but she had never let him, instead turning away so that his lips fell to her forehead, her cheek, her hair—never her lips.

So to feel her lips on his now, those sweet luscious things, was like he had found heaven. His mind was a sea of turbulence, but his heart was, just from such a simple touch, beating like it never had before. Beating in a way that made him seem human, made him seem, for the first time, alive…

If she had pulled back then, a glare on her face, tears once again in her eyes, it would have been the end for him. But to his heart's delight, to his mind's astonishment, she didn't, but on the contrary only seemed to press closer into him, her mouth moving against his in a way that sent fire through his entire being, made him feel as though he were in the fires of his own Underworld, enduring the sweetest punishment of all. Her lips…

Her arms were on his shoulders, squeezing, silently encouraging him with her lips, with her mere presence, to give in, to kiss her back, to take what she was offering…

He was having doubts, those thoughts that constantly plagued him when it involved her, as he tried to resist the lure she was presenting for him. Those sweet, soft lips, her hair, her skin… He kept his eyes squeezed shut so he wouldn't see her face, so afraid of what might be there, and what it would do to him. Break him or save him….

She pulled away then, and he to fight himself to keep from opening his eyes to gauge her reaction. Her hands stayed on his shoulders, her body up against his, so warm, so inviting…

"Hades…"

His name, whispered against his lips by the breath of spring, by her breath that felt like the sweetest breeze. It sent a shiver trembling down his spine, and sent a stab of longing, of emotions so great that they almost physically hurt him, to his heart, and he knew, knew by the way she was no longer pulling away, by her lips hovering inches from his—the greatest temptation of all—that he could no longer resist her.

He gave into the fires with a groan the shook them both, his mouth slamming against hers in such a way that she gasped, more breaths against his lips as he kissed her with all the passion he had held back, his arms wrapping greedily around her waist, pulling her closer, even closer, as his hands got lost in her fiery locks.

The kiss grew only deeper once he realized that she was, for the first time, kissing him back, her lips moving perfectly against his, her hands gripping his shoulders even tighter, possessively, urgently, as she moaned and he groaned back.

Lips parted, fire raged as winter and spring danced together in their kiss, and behind his eyelids he saw an explosion of color, felt for the first time the immortality, the invincibility, that he possessed.

A god and a goddess, a man and a woman… Hades and Persephone…

It was how it was supposed to be.

They broke apart with a gasp, her forehead falling against his chest, her arms staying on his shoulders. She stayed with him… This time, when Hades opened his eyes he was the one crying after the kiss, tears as cold as his soul had always been sliding down his face silently, as though all that coldness in him was finally being drawn out.

He was afraid to move, afraid to move, afraid to even breathe. She was in his arms, she had kissed him… His mind was churning, his heart floating higher and higher up in his chest until he felt as though it would float away from him and his body, break free to Mt Olympus in higher. He was higher than Zeus, had all the power in the world so long as this petite girl was secure in his arms. In his arms by her own free will…

He was supposed to be angry at her, supposed to be pushing her away, telling her to leave. But…He couldn't. Too long had he longed for her touch, to have her in his arms, that he found himself loathe to move. The challenge didn't matter, Hermes seemed nonexistent. There was only Persephone, breathing softly against his shoulder, her hair tickling his chin as he held her closer, always closer. And there was only Persephone…

"Hades…" For the first time he hated hearing her voice, knowing that it would end the silence, end the bliss he wished could last for all eternity. He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing that he could just block out the world at the moment, the reality that not even the immortals could hide from.

But she was starting to pull away, draw him away from that piece of heaven he had always desired. He tried to hang on to her for as long as he could, but she was moving back steadily, her eyes, those bright eyes, staring up at him, her lips so red and full and kissable… He didn't even realize he was trembling until she reached up a slim, warm hand and placed it on his cheek, and he was in heaven all over again.

"Hades…" she was whispering, "I came here for you; I came all the way down here to just be with you. I wanted to tell you back in the throne room, but you didn't give me a chance…"

He couldn't bear to believe it; he just wouldn't. Was she really saying…?

He drew away from her with his eyes still closed, feeling his chest start to heave under all the pressure as he struggled to breathe, to understand, to grasp what she was trying to tell him. "Why…What did you come all the way down here to tell me?"

Her answer could make or break him, and they both knew that. There were too many possibilities, too much past drama between them. Would it be good or bad…? Fear and hope warred inside him, and he found that the fear—after living such a life that he had—was stronger than the hope. In this dark realm, this bleak immortal life he lived, where could he possibly find hope?

Everything inside him was convinced that it would be a reason to break his heart as she opened her mouth again, her blue eyes soft on his. She was just being kind to him because she knew that the response, the truth, would kill him. That kiss had meant nothing to her; she still felt nothing beyond friendship—if even that—for him. A lost cause; the perfection definition of his love for her. Why had she even kissed him…? She was probably engaged to Hermes, about to tell him that this was goodbye, forever. She would never miss him; never think of him again…

All his dark thoughts floated around inside him to settle on a single moment as she began to speak, and he was undecided on whether he should even listen…

"Hades, I'm sorry I just barged in here like this, but I have to tell you…Please don't turn away…I came to tell you that I…I haven't stopped thinking about you since I left here! I can't…I don't understand why, but you won't leave my mind! I think about you all the time now, I wish you were always with me…! I don't understand it completely yet, but Hades…"

He was in shock when she looked up at him, her eyes—the window to the skies—shining up at him with all the light he had always been deprived, leaving him melting, leaving him only with his heart, pounding and skipping in his chest as she uttered the words he had longed to hear for too long, those words that would set him free of all his darkness, of the dank dungeons he had for too long been trapped in. Those words, made as immortal as he was throughout time, universal throughout all lands, all realms, mortals and gods alike…

Those words that would keep her with him forever.

"Hades, I think I'm in love with you."

--

Hermes knew that there was only one person who would ever manage to talk sense into Persephone. Demeter was always there for Persephone, always there to draw her back before she went too far, make her see the reality of the situation before it hurt her. Demeter would know exactly what to do to get Persephone back, and, as it was his hope, to get Persephone to forget all about Hades and love only him.

Hermes had never considered himself to be the jealous type, the possessive type, but Persephone was different. Persephone had always been his friend, from when they were small, through all the hardships. He had always considered her a sister until about a year ago, when he had for the first time really looked at her and seen how her looks were changing. The baby fat that had plagued her had melted away into sharp, distinct features, high cheek bones and perfect lips. Her body had developed stunning curves that rivaled those of even Aphrodite, and her voice had changed from innocent to sexily sweet, taking on a pure ringing quality that he could spend all day just listening too.

She had to return his affections, he was sure; after all, he had been with it through it all, her whole life. How could she even consider Hades before him? He had a feeling that Hades was manipulating her in some way, bribing her to come back to him. He probably hired a seer to bewitch her, or tempted the fates to make her return to him. It was the only explanation; Persephone wouldn't willingly return to the man who had captured her; he knew that. Demeter would make her see, break the curse, and Persephone would listen to her. After all, there was no one Persephone loved more than her mother.

The cabin was silent when he arrived; as though Persephone were still inside, sound asleep like always instead of miles underneath of him. His hands clenched into fists at his sides as he approached the front door. He hesitated outside of it, wondering if he should knock first. He had been in the house plenty of times before, but never so late in the night…

Before he could make a decision the choice was made for him when the door suddenly swung open, and a frantic Demeter stared back at him.

"Demeter-" Hermes began, but was cut off by the goddess's frantic voice.

"Persephone! Where is Persephone?"

Hermes closed his mouth, blinked in surprise. "Oh, so you noticed she was gone?"

The air grew colder around him, the grass turning brown beneath his feet—dying—as she leveled him with a glare that made him wince. "Are you implying that I wouldn't notice my daughter was missing?" she demanded in cold tones, and he had no choice but to shake his head no for fear of her making it start to snow.

"Good," Demeter relaxed a little, enough to make the air warm again but not enough to make the grass and leaves green again. "Now Hermes, tell me, have you seen her? Where is she?!"

"That's what I came here to tell you Demeter; I know where Persephone went!"

"Well then please Hermes, tell me!" the distraught goddess pleaded, and Hermes could see in her great blue eyes—so much like her daughter's—the extent of her concern.

"Well, I think that she might be seduced—"

"By who?!" the air grew colder again in the Demeter's wrath, her fear. "Dammit Hermes, just tell me!"

And Hermes knew that there was no going back.

"She went down to the Underworld. I'm so sorry Demeter, I tried to stop her…Demeter…?"

The goddess had gone still, too still. For a moment he could not read her eyes as the air began to heat up, as the leaves began to rustle and the grass began to ripple. Very slowly Demeter turned unfocused eyes on him, and he nearly took a step back at the fury he saw blazing in her eyes as the temperature took on an unnatural heat.

"He took my baby…" Demeter whispered as the leaves began to fall off their branches. "He stole her from me again…"

Hermes felt useless as tears began to well up in the mother's eyes, and tentatively he reached out, hoping to offer so comfort… Until her palm connected with the side of his face.

Yelping he jumped back as Demeter turned on him, her eyes wild as her hair escaped its ponytail in tendrils of fire. "You just let her go! You just let her walk to him…!"

"I-I tried to stop her Demeter, but she wouldn't listen! I think Hades is doing something to her, bribing her somehow, entrancing her—"

"Well of course that's what he's doing!" Demeter snapped, "My baby would never go to him on her own! Oh gods, what if he's already married her again!? Oh lord, I can't take that…! Oh….!"

For a second she began to sway on her feet, and Hermes had the idea that she might just faint. "Do you want to sit down?" he quietly asked, and was startled by the way she suddenly snapped to attention, her once swaying body becoming rigid as her hands turned into fists at her sides.

"No!" she practically shouted at him, "I can't ever sit down knowing she's down there with _him_! Oh gods, we have to talk to Zeus, now! How could she…? How could he…?!"

Hermes had no choice but to follow the frantic Demeter as she took off in a dead run towards Mt Olympus, the leaves behind her, the trees, the flowers, all forms of earthly life dying as she ran past them, leaving the earth cold and barren as up above the clouds swirled to cover the black sky in another layer of darkness, and Hermes knew what was coming.

By the time they reached Mt Olympus, Demeter not pausing in her run, it was snowing, and Hermes could only watch the small flakes fall, accumulate, and wonder how much longer it would take for the white substance to completely bury the earth and with it, the Underworld.

--

She had no idea how he'd take it; in fact, she wasn't even sure yet how she herself would take it. She waited for the regret to sink in as she watched the emotions flicker across his darkly handsome face, waiting patiently as the shock wore off and the astonishment sank in. She was even more astonished herself to find that she felt no regret as she looked up at him, gazing up at him through her lashes. Waiting for something…Anything…

Her heart wrenched in her chest as the awe wore off and the suspicion set in, that familiar shadowing in his eyes taking over until she knew that he would pull away from her, yell at her and try to push her away to protect himself. But she wouldn't allow him, wouldn't let him go—not this time.

"Hades!" She grabbed the front of his tunic, pulled him back to her even as he tried to pull away. "Hades, I'm telling the—"

"No!" he abruptly cut her off, reaching up to grab her hands as he tried to pry them off. "I can't take this Persephone; I can't take you abusing my feelings like this! Do you really think I forgot the challenge!? Do you really think that one kiss would make me forget about how you looked at Hermes?!"

"Hades, I didn't—"

But he had wrenched away from her, darkness surrounding him as he stepped back, his eyes glowing like fire at her. "Don't you dare try to deny it!" he hissed, "I don't know who you're trying to fool—"

"Gods Hades!" She was done; she was done with his assumptions, she was fed up with always being talked over, never listened to. "Hades, will you just shut up and actually listen to me for a second?!"

She had to give him credit; he recovered from his shock in record time. "Why should I?!" he yelled back, "Just so I can learn that you're leaving me to rot down here again, leaving me for the bright, sunny Hermes and the land—"

"I never said anything about Hermes, dammit, and he's not a part of this! This is only you and me, and that's it!"

"No, it's not!" he growled, "You only want me to believe that!"

"Why would I do that?!" she shrieked back, "Hades, didn't you hear me!? I love you, you idiot! I _love _you!"

She said it so urgently, so desperately, that for a moment she saw him hesitate, saw the anger die down some. And she took advantage of it.

Launching herself at him, she could only cling to him as she looked him directly in the eye, her mouth inches from his.

"Hades…"

The anger had died down, leaving a hurt, a fear lurking in his eyes, his soul, that broke her heart all over again, and she could only hold him tighter.

"Hades, I promise to you right now, on all my immortality, that I won't leave you again. I…I honestly don't think I even can. Just seeing you again…I know I broke your heart the first time, and I am still so sorry about it. If only I had realized what I was feeling, if only I had looked inside of myself and seen…"

It was them breaking point for them both. She could see through the tears collecting in her eyes his face contort, felt the shudder go through him and knew she had won. Spring seemed to burst around them as his lips slammed down into hers as he finally gave into the temptation, fell for the goddess that he was sure would be the end of him.

And together, lost in their warmth, Hades surrounded by his own personal spring, neither of them aware of the freezing earth above them…

_

* * *

_

That's it for now, please review!


	11. Paradise Lost

The Last Bite

Chapter 11: Paradise Interrupted

Disclaimer: I don't own the Greek myths, 'nuff said

* * *

She was not sure how long they sat there, and honestly didn't care. She was sitting in his lap, curled up among his dark robes as she listened to him breathe, listened to the magical sound of his heart beating under her ear. And a part of her wondered if she had found heaven. Never before had Persephone ever felt like this, never felt so…bubbly. She felt as though she was coming apart in her happiness, and only the god she was leaning against, sitting on, could ever really keep her together.

She knew it was wrong to be so happy with him, but then again she also knew how bad it was for her to love him. And did Persephone care anymore? The majority of her didn't, but there was a part of her, a part of her currently singing soul that could not be happy, a part that seemed to dim everything when she thought of it. And that part of her could only be described as her mother.

She had always had her mother's side on things, whether it be what she wanted to do that day, or what she wanted to wear. Her mother had always agreed with everything Persephone decided, but this, falling in love with the god of the underworld… She knew that she would never get her mother's support.

She could still remember the look of utter relief on Demeter's face when she had emerged from the underworld that first time, the pomegranate in her hand—so light and red and juicy when it had hit her tongue. Her mother's eyes had gleamed in such a way that Persephone had felt her heart skip, surprised that she could produce such feeling in her mother.

Persephone was no fool—she knew that her mother really didn't have anyone else beside her, and if she were to ever leave… Well, Persephone had the feeling that the world would fall apart. She never intended to endanger the world, never intended to make her mother suffer without her, but… But the pull of love was undeniable, and she just had to follow it.

And of course it led here, in the "garden" of the underworld where the dark skies pressed in on her and the flowers wilted at her feet. Before she would have found the bleak sight as it was—depressing—but not now, not from her seat in Hades lap.

Suddenly to her everything in the underworld, this place of death, became oddly beautiful, the dark sky reminding her of a dark twilight, the swirling clouds patterns that painted through it in loving strokes. The wilting flowers and remains of plants, darkened in their deaths seemed like tiny silhouettes, rare in themselves as they faced the ground coyly, as though afraid to look up into the swirling abyss above them.

The dark palace was so lovely in its gothic style, the stones each etched individually, coming together all the same to create great blocks, a wall, a room, whatever they wanted to be used for. It was really an elegant palace, if not dark—if not exactly what Hades was. He fit his world so perfectly, and in that he became already lovelier in her eyes, possessing a domain all his own, qualities that no other god or mortal could ever steal. Perfectly his own kind—and now…now he was hers.

There was that thrive of happiness again that had her burrowing further into him with a ridiculous smile on her face, a sweet sigh escaping her now thoroughly kissed lips. She had never really understood the importance of kissing until she had found Hades, but now she saw it clearly. Kissing was a way to bring two souls together physically, to mend them together as one through sweet lips that spoke not words but movements to each other, spoke volumes in the trust each mouth put in touching the other.

When she looked back up at her god she found him looking down at her with a now familiar gleam in his eyes. As though reading her thoughts he swooped down to claim her lips again, and Persephone was again swept away by the passion he stirred within her as she happily kissed back.

When they broke apart he was still gazing intently at her, and for the first time she could not will herself to be nervous and instead smiled for him, smiled the smile of spring that would bring more light to his wintry heart.

"What did I do to deserve you?" he whispered, brushing a gentle hand down one of her blazing locks of hair.

"Kidnapped me," she answered with an even wider smile, leaning into his touch. "By the way, I never really thanked you for that, did I?"

The hand in her hair froze as his eyes widened in shock. "You…You want to thank me for kidnapping you?!" he exclaimed, and could only stare at her when she nodded.

Slowly he shook his head, still wearing an incredulous expression as his lips pulled back in the faintest of smiles. "You are not the same girl I kidnapped," he muttered, almost to himself, but she answered anyway, bringing a steady hand up to touch his cheek.

"You changed me, love," she whispered back, stroking his cheek, "You made me a woman and I can not thank you enough for it."

He reached up to cover her small hand with his own for a second, staring at her with such open adoration that she could not help but feel slightly awkward if not slightly proud. Only she could make him look this way…

"What are you thinking?" she heard herself whispering, and felt him sigh beneath her as he gently caressed her hand.

"I'm wondering if all of this is some miraculous dream," he whispered back with a wistful smile on his face, and it was all she could do to lean in and kiss him once again.

"Then we should never wake up," she whispered against his lips, and could not resist her giggle as he dipped her backwards, her hands coming up to cup his face. When they finally pulled away she was happy to see him grinning, his normally somber face stretched out in a smile that only made him look all the more lovelier in her eyes, and she knew that she could never regret her decision to return to him.

She allowed him to hold her closer, forgetting the world above them as he began to run his fingers through her hair. At the moment there was no reality, at that moment her mother was not above her breaking down, Hermes was not seething in rage. There was no challenge for her hand in marriage, there was no controversy about her being with the god of the underworld.

As she closed her eyes and began to listen to Hades heart again reality was far from her, as she wanted it to be…

…However, she could not hide from it. Sooner or later, that reality would get her, get them both, and she would no longer be in his arms.

--

On Mt Olympus the situation could not be any worse. As the underworld flourished with the return of its queen, the earth and the heavens mourned the loss of the spring. Everything died under Demeter's pain as she wept in the arms of her brother, and Zeus could only stand there and take it, albeit awkwardly, and mutter reassurances.

"H-He took her again," Demeter was sobbing, "P-please save her…_Save _her…"

"I'll try to, Demeter," Zeus replied in a deep, comforting voice, stroking the goddess' back gently, "But you know as well as I that my jurisdiction ends as soon as the Underworld begins."

Apparently that had been the wrong thing to say as Demeter's tears fell faster as a violent snowstorm ripped across the lands.

"Zeus," Hera hissed from next to her husband, "Don't tell her that, you're only making it worse! Gods, at this rate the world will be in another ice age!"

Zeus could only grimace, looking over at his wife with an expression that clearly said, "Well, what do you want me to do?"

Hera could only roll her eyes before stepping up and grabbing Demeter's arm and squeezing it lightly, prompting the other goddess to raise her tear stained face to look at her. "Demeter dear, I'm sure that Persephone will come to her senses—"

"But even if she does that horrid man will never let her go!" Demeter half cried, half snarled back, "He'll try to keep him with her forever, like last time!"

"But she escaped last time," Zeus added, and Demeter turned angry, tear filled eyes on him.

"Only because you were able to help!" Demeter snapped, "Why in all that is dying can't you do it again?!"

"I can not order my brother around, alas," Zeus shook his head, "I do not wish to get involved in his affairs—"

"Even if it means I'll destroy the world?" Demeter challenged.

"Demeter, don't talk like that!" Hera gasped, "I'm sure that Persephone will convince him to let her go. I mean, if he loves her so much he should let her go!"

"No." All eyes snapped to Hermes, who throughout the conversation had been standing quietly by, watching with emotionless eyes. Now he stepped forward, his face drawn in a tight serious line as he regarded them through burning eyes. "I know for a fact that he won't let her go, not now. Not when she went to him willingly."

Silence followed this for a moment, before Demeter's sobs grew louder and Zeus and Hera were able to get over their shock.

"Why would she go to him willingly…?" Hera asked Hermes with a curious expression, and it was Demeter, now shoving herself away from Zeus in anger, who answered.

"Because he seduced her, played with her mind!" the goddess hissed, "My baby would have never gone to him without some kind of deception!"

"So…Does that mean that there might be a way to break the spell—or whatever it is—that drew her to him in the first place?" Hera mumbled, glancing at the distraught Demeter.

"There better be," Demeter growled, "and someone better find it!"

"Yes," Zeus agreed, "It would be best if this ended soon, before the earth has no means to inhabit the people on it. I suppose someone should go to the Underworld to try to bring Persephone back up…"

"I'll do it," Demeter immediately demanded, "I want to be the one to bring her back to her senses—I'm the only one that can."

"But Demeter…Seeing Hades might cause you to do something drastic," Hera quietly murmured, "Are you sure you can handle seeing him?"

"I'm sure," Demeter replied, "Although I wouldn't mind giving him a piece of my mind and—"

"Then that will not do," Zeus thundered, and Demeter spun around to glare at him in shock.

"What…? Zeus, I have to—"

"No," he cut her off, "Demeter I cannot allow you to assault Hades in any way. If you were to…It would cause an irreversible break in the way that the things in this world are to work. Would you like the Underworld to come to Mt. Olympus?"

"Of course not!" Demeter hissed, "But Zeus, she's my daughter—"

"I know she is," Zeus boomed, "But Demeter accept what I am ordering you to do! Stand down and let someone else deal with this matter!"

"Someone else?!" she cried back, "But who?! Who Zeus!? No once can bring her back but me! No one cares for her enough—"

"I do."

Demeter instantly fell silent and turned around slowly, eyes falling back on Hermes who had again spoken up, his eyes hard. "I can bring her back," he reaffirmed, "And I can do it without once getting involved with Hades. I can make it look like she left on her own."

For a moment they all stared at him silently, and he only stood there staring right back.

"Do you really think you can do this?" Zeus quietly asked, and Hera moved forward to place a hand on Hermes shoulder, searching his eyes.

"I'm sure," Hermes responded, "Persephone trusts me, and she'll listen to me."

"And why would you wish to go after the fair Persephone, Hermes?" Zeus asked with a small smile on his face, "Could it be that there is more than friendship between you?"

Hermes hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding, a small smile emerging on his face as Zeus came forward to clap him on the back and Hera squeezed his arm and grinned at him happily. Only Demeter didn't react, standing at the distance simply staring at the messenger god through red rimmed eyes. She was still silent as Zeus turned to her, spreading his arms out and grinning.

"Well Demeter, did you hear that? I think you found who your son-in-law will be! Much more agreeable than Hades, is he not?"

Demeter stayed silent for a moment, still regarding Hermes. "I suppose I agree with him…" she finally whispered, "Anyone's better than Hades…"

Hermes took a tentative step forward, Hera's hand falling from his shoulder as he approached the grieving goddess.

"I swear I'll bring her back," Hermes promised, "I promise Demeter, I'll bring her back to you."

Demeter stared up at the god for a second, her lips parting as she took in a sharp breath of air. Hermes could see the conflict in her sky blue eyes, eyes so much like her daughters that he felt his heart twinge, his heart yearn for Persephone even more.

He stayed perfectly still as Demeter reached out a hand, a nourishing hand that fed life to the world, made life and death in turns, and placed it on his cheek. Her blue eyes were spinning before him as she whispered to him through her eyes, "Bring her back to me…"

And Hermes—without a doubt—whispered back, "I will."

--

Persephone wasn't sure of the time; in fact, she wasn't really sure of anything as she clung to Hades arm, allowed him to escort her to her room for "the night" with a grin on her face and a light heart.

"Is this the same room you gave me last time?" she inquired curiously, leaning in closer to him.

"Indeed it is," he replied, looking down at her with a soft expression, "As you recall I designed it just for you, so of course it's yours again. All yours…"

She could not resist her happy giggle at the thought of seeing her familiar room again, the room painted as yellow as the sun with white sheets and vibrant colors that provided her with a sense of what she had left behind. The sunlight that she could never see again…

"I never thanked you for that you know," she stated softly when they arrived outside the familiar door and she turned to face him.

"Thanked me for what?" He raised a brow, still wearing a smile as he reached out to touch her cheek.

"For…everything you've done for me. Giving me my own personal room, being so sweet…" she leaned into his touch with a sigh, her sky eyes gleaming up at him filled with tears that she only knew of as happiness.

She responded instantly when he leaned in to capture her lips in another passionate kiss, and she everything she ever knew slipping away as his tongue entered her mouth. Dark and light, the night and the day, the spring and the winter, yin and yang… Two halves that made the perfect whole, as she had heard before. She never felt her heart pound so fast as his arms wrapped around her, never felt so many little thrills shocking every one of her nerve cells as his hand got caught in her long hair, as their tongues danced and she leaned completely into him until he was her only support, her only shelter from the storm she knew was raging above her, the passion raging inside of her…

So lost in him, in the kiss he was bestowing upon her that literally stole her breath, she did not see the shadow sneak up behind him, did not see the shadow's arm go back, make a fist… until it was too late.

The passion exploded as Hades slumped against her, fell to the ground in front of her as her eyes snapped open, as reality rushed back into her. She could only gape in shock at the sight before her, her lips—red from the passionate kiss she had just received—forming one name:

"Hermes…"

And then the god moved forward, flying on winged feet, and she felt a twinge in her neck before everything began to go black.

And the last thing she saw before arms caught her was Hades limp form sprawled at her feet.

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_DUN, DUN, DUUUUNNN! So Hermes was a little, uh, aggressive, huh? Well, I guess if you love someone that much it would hurt to see them with someone else… Eh, well let me know what you think! Thank you so much for your amazing reviews; they make my day all the time! I can't believe how popular this story is becoming… And to think it all started as a spur of the moment one-shot I had planned! Thank thank thank you and please feel free to drop in a review and tell me what you think! _


	12. Dormant Spring

Chapter 12: Dormant Spring

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it!

A/N: I am SOOO sorry it took so long to update! Lately my life's been a rush, and it's finally starting to calm down. Things haven't been great in school, and my best friend just celebrated her big 18th birthday and we went to Florida, so I really couldn't update. But now here I am, back with numerous sunburns and ready to give you the chapter you faithful reviewers deserve! I can not thank you enough for supporting this story, and I hope this chapter makes up for my absence! Enjoy!

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Persephone awoke to a pain in her head and a hollow feeling in her chest. She let out a tiny groan, squeezing her eyes shut tighter in pain as she attempted to open her eyes. The material beneath her was silky and vaguely familiar; she snuggled down further into it to try to ease the throbbing, her limbs stirring languidly as she cracked one eye open.

She was lying in her bed back at her cottage, the same place she had awoken at for years. It should have made her feel comforted, but to her foggy mind it didn't for some reason. Her chest felt heavy, as though someone were pushing down on her heart as she slowly began to sit up, grabbing at her head as the throbbing pain spiked at the movement.

What the hell had happened to her? Everything looked as it should, the sunlight falling through her single window in thin rays that seemed to sparkle. They sparkled so much that they hurt her eyes, and she had to close them again.

In the darkness behind her eyelids, hazy shapes began to take form, meshing together into memories, events, which made her heavy heart start to pound. As she remembered—

"Hades." Her eyes flew open desperately, burned from the sunlight as she frantically searched her room for him, the man she had come to love. But there was no one but her, back home in her bed in the cottage—it was almost as though the whole night had never happened.

But the tingling that was still in her lips—lips that he had touched with his own—told her that it could never be. She had been brought back here, against her will, by that dark shape she had seen, that man who had given her this pain in her head, this pain in her heart. By the god she had grown up with, the very man she had always considered to be her best friend—Hermes.

The sting of betrayal was deep, and burned her already aching heart. For a moment she could only sit there, flabbergasted, hurt, and wonder—why had he done this? How could he have done this to her…?

The tears started to form in her eyes, but she blinked them back viciously; before she would have just let them fall, gotten over the whole situation in tears that would result in nothing. But she was smarter now, she had matured, and she knew just crying about it would not fix what he had done. Hermes had betrayed her, even after she had specifically told him that she wanted to be with Hades, and taken her away from the Underworld where she belonged.

And she would have her revenge. At her sides her hands clenched into fists on the sheets, and with a growl that was far from the little meek girl she used to be she ripped the covered from her body and flew up out of bed, marching with purposeful steps to the door. She tried to the knob once, twice, and scowled darkly. Of course it was locked; the bastard had locked her in here!

Fuming now, her face flushed in her rage, she began to pound her tiny fists against the door, knowing she'd attract someone's attention. She figured that Hermes probably was still lurking around somewhere, waiting for her to wake up to explain himself. And really, she could not wait to see him—just so she could slap him across the face.

"Hermes!" she called out in her deceptively sweet voice, the voice she had sported for so long as a naïve little girl. Let him enter the room thinking she was back to her old self, let him see her at first believing that she fine and happy about what he had done.

She heard movement outside the door, the sounds of keys jingling, and smirked. "Hermes, let me out please!" she called again, barely repressing the violence in her voice. She took a step back at the sound of the lock turning, the click of the door as it was made accessible again.

She had a shout already on her lips, a speech of hate for him in her mind as the door started to open, her eyes blazing, her hands fisted—

Until she met the clear blue eyes exactly like her own and all her anger swept out of her to be replaced with shock. It was not Hermes in her door, but—

"…Mother?"

--

Hades awoke with rage in his heart and a pain in his head. Growling faintly under his breath he sat up only to find himself in the elaborate room of darkness that he referred to as his bedroom, tucked in his bed. For a moment, he could only blink in confusion.

What was he doing here, in bed? The last thing he could remember was Persephone's lovely face twisted in horror before he felt a pain in the back of his head, and saw his beloved slump down next to him. And then there had been nothing but darkness.

Hades was by no means a fool; he knew that something had happened to Persephone or she would have been there with him, sitting by his bedside in concern…right? She had confessed that she loved him, she had agreed to stay with him, so why wasn't she here?

In the pain in his heart, in the rage filling up his being, he knew why: she had been kidnapped. From right in front of him the girl—no, the _woman—_he loved more than even he himself had been taken from him—again. Once again he had been robbed of her, and it was even harder this time; this time, she had actually been willing to stay with him, love him, of her own free will.

Amidst the swirling darkness of his room—it was always so damn dark, a perfect reflection of who rested there—he let loose a scream of rage he had not realized until released had been building up in his throat, preparing to crash down on him and echo throughout every fissure of the dark castle.

And of course, his only reply to his desperate scream of rage was nothing—only the same damn scream echoing back at him. It made him want to scream again and again and again… Until he had no voice left, until he was weak and unconscious in sleep again. But even that, all of that, would do little to die the flames of rage that were burning in his chest, searing what he knew to be his very own dark soul; the soul which for so long he had questioned, now ignited with the bitter feeling that drove his entire world…

"It's not fair…"

And it wasn't fair, any of it. He had let all the pompous bastards on Mt Olympus win again, allowed them to put him again in his lonely shadows, deprived him from the light. Why…Why did they hate him so much? Even before his abduction of the spring daughter Persephone the gods of the world of light had looked down on him; why? Simply because he was cursed with the powers, the job, none of them had wanted. Lord of the Dead, an outcast in his darkness, never to experience the rays of light or life…

He had always been the perfect target. When the mortal world fell to disease due to some miscreant by Zeus, when innocents were slaughtered in the favor of the gods, he was the one to blame. He never caused the ward—Ares did—and he never picked sides and prompted battles—Aphrodite, Hera and all the other goddesses did on their love for a simple mortal man. He was not to blame; he never had been to blame.

But why should they see that? They all thought that they were all mighty, not to be reprimanded for doing the most foolish of things. If there was one thing that the gods of Mt Olympus taught Hades it was this—Vanity was the leading cause of destruction, and the self is the only true thing that mattered.

Selfish, ignorant gods who saw only what they wanted, who saw little in the dark powers other held…

But he'd show them. Hades could not be sure when the initial idea of revenge had been born into his brain, but he only knew that the stealing of Persephone from his clutches had been the final straw. Just as he had picked the short straw to get stuck in this dark realm, he would not, could not, pick it again. It was no longer his turn to be left with the dark side of things, so to speak; he had to get his light back, one way or another. He had…He had to get his Persephone back…

He was already devising some semblance of a plan as he moved from his bed, wondering vaguely who could have possibly put him in it. Perhaps it had been the very person who had knocked him unconscious and stolen Persephone who had put him in his bed, maybe hoping that he would believe that the entire occurrence with her had just been a dream.

Hades smiled grimly; no such luck. It was time that he shed some little…darkness on the happy fools of Olympus and broke them from their trance of superiority. He was the Lord of the Dead, after all; who could defeat what had already ceased to live? The thoughts were winding tighter and tighter in his head, all circled and caught up in the fleeting feeling of Persephone's lips on his, on her smile, her skylight eyes. He would do it all for her, he thought almost desperately as he called to him Minos, called to him all the minions that controlled the levels of his hell.

They would help him orchestrate his attack, puppets of darkness that would bring her back to him while destroying the realm of gaiety the other gods seemed to be far too immersed in. His head was still pounding, his heart still aching from being so apart from her—the angel he had just found and lost—but he ignored it; he had a mission to complete now, an era to destroy, a goddess—his queen—to win back.

He could not be troubled by any feelings of the mortal variety; he was above that. He was the Lord of the Dead, the undying, hate filled Hades, as they always labeled him, called him, taunted him with. And he would soon have his revenge.

--

Vaguely Persephone wondered if perhaps she was still dreaming. Her mother was standing before her like always, her eyes bright and cheeks rosy as she beamed at her, her only daughter, her little goddess. Could she really be here…?

"Mother" she began, flustered, "What—"

"Shh my dear," Demeter smiled, stepping towards her, refusing to listen. "You're safe now, you're with me…"

And then her arms were around Persephone, and the younger goddess could not help but gasp at the odd…violence of the hug. Her mother was squeezing her almost unbearably tight to her body, her arms unbreakable bands that seemed to drain Persephone of all her energy. Even as she began to squirm Demeter did not let her go, instead just holding her that much tighter, if possible, until Persephone nearly cried out.

"Mother…Stop…You're hurting me…"

And just like that the brutal hug was over, Demeter releasing her daughter to step back and wipe her eyes, still smiling happily.

"…Mother?" Persephone could only blink, feeling a twinge of concern go through her. Why was her mother's eyes so teary, and why…what was with the greeting? Deciding to try to figure it out Persephone stepped forward again, this time reaching out to her mother to take her warm hand in her own.

Smiling at Demeter's teary face, Persephone began to inquire about what was the matter when Demeter broke down all over again, pulling her back into another fierce hug with a winded sigh.

"My baby…" Persephone felt her whisper against her ear, "Don't leave me again…"

And suddenly at that statement everything was falling back in place, and Persephone found herself amazed by her own stupidity. The hugs, the tears, the sheer relief… It only meant that Demeter was happy to have her daughter back from the clutches of the underworld, from the clutches of Hades…

Persephone herself did not know where she found the strength to pull away, but she did, and stood, shaking, staring her mother down with a feeling of rage building in her chest. Rage—an emotion she had never felt towards her mother before. It only made her tremble more.

"Mother, you—"

"Persephone, why do you pull away from me?" Demeter's voice was laced with a desperation the temporarily froze Persephone's angry words, and she could only stare at her, a deer caught in the proverbial headlights. Demeter wasted no time in taking advantage of Persephone's moment of weakness.

"Persephone, dear, didn't you miss me?"

Thrown off guard Persephone blinked at her, taking another tentative step back. "O-Of course I did mother but—"

"I missed you so much Persephone—" Demeter cooed, suddenly upon her again. "Didn't you miss me?"

For a moment, Persephone was at a loss for words. "O-Of course…Of course I did mother, but—"

"Where did you go Persephone? I searched everywhere for you!"

Persephone felt the first tendrils of shock seep into her. Her mother was acting as though she had had no idea about what Hermes had done. Did she possibly even know…?

"Mother, I'm fine, really, and I did miss you. But…Didn't you know? I was down in the Underworld."

Persephone could only watch her mother's face for any signs, hoping with all her heart that her mother would adopt a startled expression, act shocked and hug her again. But instead she witnessed the eyes so like her own darken, saw her normally smiling mouth set in a firm, emotionless line as her face grew more and more somber. And Persephone knew, as she had suspected, that her own mother had played a hand in taking her away from the Underworld.

"Mother…" She backed away from her, face a mixture of hurt and anger as she fought between the urges to cry or scream at her mother. "You…You helped him, you helped Hermes take me away—"

"Oh Persephone…" And just like that the hard, angered look was gone and those liquid eyes were staring at her softly again, almost…sympathetically, as her mother stepped towards her. "Dear, you just need to realize that I only did it for you. Gods know what that dark Hades would have done to you if you had stayed down there any longer…"

The concern in her voice should have quieted her rage, should have made her step back and try to rationalize with her mother, as she always did. But on this day, head aching, heart mourning the loss of her god, she actually found herself defying her mother, her lips twisting into a scowl as her eyes narrowed. She could not just take this, could not just let her mother think that she owned her still.

"Well mother, in case you didn't already figure it out, I went to Hades _freely_. Why, do you ask? Simply because I wanted to, and that…that I have feelings for him. That's all; there's nothing more to it."

She was hoping that her mother would understand, and found that she was not surprised in the least when she didn't.

"Persephone," her mother was starting to use the reprimanding tone, that warning tone she had used on her as a little girl to try to get her to obey her. The sound of that tone and the reminder of how her mother had used it ever since she was small...It only served to fuel her anger.

"Oh for all the gods' mother, at least talk to me like I'm an adult!" she snapped, letting loose her feelings, "I'm all grown up, dammit!"

If her mother had heard her, if her words actually had struck a chord in Demeter, the older goddess did not show it, simply continuing to stare at her daughter in that damnable concern, her eyes growing softer, more worried.

"Persephone, you really should not talk to your mother like that; did that damn Hades teach you to talk to me that way?"

"What?!" Persephone exclaimed, taken aback. "No!" she shook her head fervently. "Hades never did anything to me mother, except shower me with affection and—"

"And poison your mind," Demeter's eyes flashed, sharp and dangerous. "Why try to defend him now dear, when you're free of his clutches?"

"Mother!" Persephone all but exploded, her cheeks flushing in her frustration, the anger her mother would not seem to let her get across and accept. "Hades never did anything like that to me! My god, is that what you think of him? That he brainwashes innocent girls like me? That he turns families against one another?"

Demeter stared at her for a long second, her face suddenly falling unexpectedly somber again. Persephone could only stare back at her and wait for her to respond, the frustration and anger bottling up inside of her about to explode.

At length her mother looked away from her, off to the side where the window was, watching the light stream in onto the carpet.

"How can I not think of him that way?" Demeter softly muttered, almost to herself as her eyes remained transfixed on the light, "When he lives in the shadows? Persephone, my daughter, I have never been in the shadows, nor have I ever liked them; therefore, I suppose it is only natural for me to think such ill thoughts against him…"

"That's completely bias!" Persephone bit out, practically grounding out the words. "You don't even know him! You don't know his true personality, or how caring he can be, or how gentle—"

"And you believed that?" Demeter effectively cut her off, "You believe that someone surrounded by death for decades—immortal or now—is capable of love? Of knowing how to comfort someone, of giving someone joy? Dearest…" Demeter looked back at her daughter with infuriatingly gentle eyes, her lips quirking in a rather sad smile. "His world is simply not for you, can't you see that? Even if he truly does treat you right, you could never survive with him in death, my daughter. You are, after all, the goddess of the spring."

Persephone could only stare at her mother for a moment before swallowing thickly, her mouth suddenly dry, her chest suddenly seeming so…heartless. "So," she quietly muttered, "I guess that who I am, my role in this society, is all I amount to. Am I correct?"

Sensing her daughter's quiet anger Demeter stepped forward, lightly grabbing Persephone's shoulder. "Well dear, you're a vital part to the mortal world; all of us are. You must perform your duties, and you can not possibly bring spring in the Underworld!"

"So that's in then. I'm just going to have to forget about him, my heart, and hope that spring can just start without it! Dammit mother, don't you see? If you ever want a spring again I must be with Hades!"

"As if death can possibly awaken spring!" Demeter all but yelled back, startling Persephone. "As if you can possibly find happiness, light, anything you're made up of down there! Persephone, just forget him, just move on! You belong up here with me my daughter, with me!"

"Tell me mother," Persephone said, frost that she did not even realize resembled Hade's seeping into her voice, "Have you always been so selfish? To let me forget my happiness in light of yours…"

"You won't be giving up any happiness my dear," Her mother was calm again, speaking to her with that gentle smile she used to adore so much. "You'll certainly find much more happiness up here, where you truly belong. Besides, I need you to keep the mortals happy with summer and plentiful crops."

Persephone was not sure when her naivety completely ended, but she knew it was gone now as she clearly heard the underlying threat to her mother's words, heard the manipulation, and could barely believe it. Was her…mother actually trying to make her guilty enough into staying with her?

It was so… wrong, so underhanded. She had never thought her mother capable of such a thing, but then again her mother had already surprised her just in the way she spoke of Persephone's husband, in the way she had had her taken forcibly back up to the surface. If Persephone had not had happy memories of her mother—so many wonderful moments—she might have hated her, but the fact was that she could only stir that small traces of loathing inside of her. Mainly she could only feel the bitter strong of despair, throbbing morbidly with her hurt. How could her mother have done such a thing to her? Said such things to her?

Persephone wanted to understand, wanted to reach out and shake the goddess until she got her mother back, but Demeter was already moving away back towards the door, her blue eyes—suddenly so cold and full of desperation—not once straying from Persephone's lithe figure. So small, too young to be dragged into all of this…

"Persephone, you must stay here until this is all over," her mother was saying, and Persephone could not believe her ears. Was she implying…?

"But mother—"

"He can't have you back Persephone," Demeter's voice was suddenly a fierce desperate whisper, but Persephone did not have to listen hard to hear her; the message was loud and clear. "I'm going to keep you here until we find out how to break…whatever it is that he has done to make you love him. But until then you have to stay here; I'm…sorry."

That was all there was to say; she was sorry. It just was not enough as Persephone let the tears fall, through burning eyes watching as her own mother stepped outside the door, and without even one sympathizing look—all pity—pulled the heavy door closed behind her. And Persephone knew that she could not stop her.

She recalled a time, years ago; the last time her mother had locked her in this room, when she had been a little girl. She had insulted some of the other goddesses, run off without anyone knowing to hide in the fields, in between the trees where the blossoms fell. And her mother had found her, panicked, and taken her home without mercy, throwing Persephone in her room in tears, muttering things under her breath that she could scarcely remember. But she knew she had hurt her mother; and back then she had regretted it, curled up in a ball on her bed and cried.

But now…As she curled up in that fetal position so similar to the one she had been in years ago she felt nothing for her mother, no regret at all, except a steadily building resentment that hurt her heart as much as it liberated it. How could her own mother do this to her…? How could her mother resent Hades so much for his job, for his domain, for simply how he was? How could her mother…separate two people so perfectly in love? What was wrong with her…?

But Persephone could find no answers in the silence of her room, in the quiet sounds of her own suppressed sobs. There was nothing left to do but lie here as dormant as her heart and wait and wait and wait for her true love, wherever he was, to find her, save her, release her and simply love her.

As in her tears, in her greatest grief she thought of only him as the salt from her tears stung her cheeks, her lips, reminding her so tragically of him…

"Hades…"

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That's it for the moment, though I tried to make this chapter longer than usual. Please review if you liked it—sorry if this chapter confused you, Demeter is basically a little…off in my mind at the moment, ha. For some reason I wanted to make this sort of…darker, I guess, with Hades seeking vengeance and Demeter not willing to let Persephone go. Buuutttt anyway, please review, thanks!


	13. The Doe

The Last Bite

Chapter 13: The Doe

Disclaimer: I do not own the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone.

Sorry it took so long to update! I've been overwhelmed with the horrible schoolwork for the past couple of weeks with projects, essays, blah, blah, blah... But now I'm hopefully back on track! Thank you, thank you, thank you for reviewing! You are so amazing, and just for you I updated as soon as I could!

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He was not sure how long he sat there, dwelling in his plans for revenge and hatred for the light. He was not sure how long he allowed his thoughts to wander to the only happy thing he had—her—and rest there, trying to find some tattered semblance of peace. Hades was not really sure about anything anymore. The hours that had slipped by, the interactions of those in his dark world. All he really knew was that he missed her, needed her, and had to get her back—because only then his revenge would work, only when she was safe could he enact his plan to send those pompous gods going to him for help. To chase away the shadows…Was that all he was good for?

He was getting headache, but he did not mind; the pain helped him think clearer, somehow helped enhance all his problems and remind him that they were real, upon him, and he was not in another one of his nightmares. This time, he was just living the nightmare. And how hellish it was, the pounding in his head perfect clarity of it all, the anger and pain singing in his chest, in the wound he was slowly making in his hand as his fingernails bit deeper and deeper into the skin of his clenched fist. There was not one part of him not ready to jump into action, not one part of him who would allow Persephone just to remain absent and find her way back on her own. She was now his dammit, and he would retrieve her. One way or another, he'd get her back and in the process teach Demeter a thing or two…

He did not jump s most would at the sudden swell of darkness that appeared in the center of the throne room, but simply twisted his mouth into an irritated scowl. Why did his brooding always have to get interrupted? His crimson eyes flashed to Minos as he stepped out of the shadows that had appeared, his gaunt pale face seeming even more hideous than usual as he bowed to his lord.

The snakes that curled around him had their black eyes trained all on Hades, who stared right back. He knew what was coming as they began to weave around Minos muscular body, heard them faintly hiss as they stopped and Minos spoke up.

"You're in the level of wrath, my lord, and jealousy. Or perhaps you're just all the sins wrapped up in one?"

"Clever, Minos," Hades growled back, "But I can afford to be full of sin, now can't I? It only makes sense that I rule here."

"My lord, I meant not to be clever; the sins you are experiencing should not be, not all at once."

"All of the sins?" Hades challenged, "Foolish judge, I do not believe I am feeling slothful at the moment, nor am I experiencing an type of gluttony. You exaggerate."

The snakes hissed at him as Minos shook his head slowly, dead eyes falling to the floor, to his own cursed body. "It does not matter how few you do not possess at the moment, Lord Hades; all that matters is that you possess some, and that they are in their fullest states."

"So sins can be full?" Hades mused darkly, leering down at the judge, "So tell me Minos, how horrid are mine? I know you can tell, can feel how dreadful they are. My malice, my pain, my jealousy… Tell me Minos, am I wrong to feel them? Aren't I justified enough?"

The snakes were coiling tighter as the judge raised his dark eyes, and for a moment, just a moment, the king he sued to be seemed to shine through on his dead face, the king who had ruled for only his country and not himself. The king who had died and would never be coming back.

"My lord, it's not a matter of being justified or not; it's a matter of being stronger than it all."

Stronger than it all. To beat the raging seas of sin back, to fight the tide of feelings that could lead to destruction. Hades was no fool; he knew that Minos was right, and he knew that he should listen to him, rethink all of plans of revenge and torture. He knew this, yet he could not get himself to obey it. He had done so for too long, and now… Now it was enough.

"No," was his only curt answer, and the snakes hissed once more. "No Minos, I am no longer above this; I am not as noble as those fools on Olympus, nor am I willing to subjugate myself to a world without my love. Call forth the Erinyes, Minos, and the other judges, Rhadamanthus and Aeacus; they need to be here to hear my plan."

Minos stepped back as the lord of the dead arose from his throne, dark robes billowing behind him as he lifted burning red eyes to the ceiling of his domain, up towards the oblivious gods.

And the snakes' hissed one final time as a dark smile crept over Hades' face, and his voice, as deadly as the creatures of the night, rang throughout the dead world.

"I think it is time to visit Mt. Olympus."

--

On Mt. Olympus, preparations were being made. Under the goddess Demeter's fervent orders, the challenges to win the fair Persephone's heart were coming together, all gods—major and minor—gathering around in the throne room.

And at the front of it all, seated next to Demeter, was Hermes. He was tapping his winged feet against the marble floor in his nerves, a light scowl marring his boyish features as he trailed his eyes over his enemies. There was Ares, decked out in a full warrior ensemble, sitting in the corner sharpening his spear. Not far from him was Dionysus, as usual pouring himself a glass of wine in his golden goblet, the hazy look of a drunkard already clouding his features. There was Apollo, the golden god who was sitting there, surrounded by the goddess's as he listened to them, and smiled his golden smile for them in a way that made Hermes' stomach roll. Not far away from him, huddled in a corner yet still trying to look magnificent in their robes were the gods of the winds, Boreas, god of the north wind, Zephyr, god of the west wind, Notus, god of the south wind and Eurus, god of the east wind. They were all assembled around their father, the thin, lanky god of the winds who was eyeing the competition like Hermes' was with a weary eye, occasionally opening his mouth to expel a gust of air to tell one of his sons something. Perhaps it was advice; after all, Hermes determined, straightening himself up on his throne, they were going to need it. He had every intention of winning this little competition, and with Demeter's help…

He could barely keep the grin off his face, even as Artemis—clad in her tradition warrior's armor—stepped up next to Zeus' throne. Immediately at the sight of her the whole area went silent, every eye of the gods fastening on her form as she cleared her throat and smiled her cool smile.

"Welcome gods of Olympus and beyond, to the first day of the competition! As I have said before, the first challenge involves capturing the elusive golden deer that flitters throughout the mortal and god-like worlds, always one step ahead of its opponents. Those who wish to capture it may find that it is—while easy to spot—perhaps almost too fast for nearly any god to capture, unless they are swift on their feet."

The arrogance that had been building up inside of Hermes expanded even more at that last part. Swift on the feet, huh? He grinned down at the winged shoes that were always clad on his feet, the shoes that made him who he was. If anyone could capture that deer, he determined, it had to be him; there was just no other way.

"There are no rules really to this competition," Artemis continued, "However, one can neither injure the doe, Arbela, nor hinder others when it comes to capturing her. Every god has an equal chance here, no matter their unique power or abilities…"

Artemis trailed off to glance to the side and everyone's gaze followed hers to land on the solitary form of the goddess Demeter, who wore a perfectly false smile on her face as she all but glared the gods that had gathered down.

"I am here simply to say," she began in a voice that was sickly sweet, "That even of you do win this challenge, it is ultimately my decision to decide who it is who will marry my daughter, so do not think that if you win the two challenges you can take my daughter."

Underneath the goddess' words was a threat, a sweetly disguised threat injected with enough poison to make some of the weaker gods shift uncomfortably, look down and away from the goddess. Hermes never took his eyes off her. They had come to a tentative understanding, and as Demeter turned back to Artemis and nodded to her to continue, he could have sworn the goddess' sky blue eyes landed on him for a moment. An encouragement, a clear message. And he knew all too well what it meant:

_Do not fail._

Persephone was to be his bride and only his bride, so long as he already had her mother's blessing. As Demeter slipped back into the shadows he leaned back in the chair he was propped in, placing his hands behind his head in the picture of relaxation he knew the others would be jealous of.

So lost in his happiness, he could only begin to daydream as Artemis concluded that the competition would begin at sundown, when the earth settled in and Arbela would come out. So lost in his happiness Hermes missed the lurking shadow to the right of him, missed the searing eyes that cut through his form in a glare that promised death.

So lost in his happiness, Hermes was not aware that suddenly his immortal life was on the line.

--

It was sundown by the time Persephone finally managed to escape her prison.

How she managed this, her daring escape, was simple and she would beat herself up later for not thinking of it sooner.

She had been lying on her bed, staring at the blue flower she had taken from the night she had first encountered her love again in the field of flowers. It had smelt so good in her hands, even after all that time; a bittersweet fragrance that had brought even more useless tears to her eyes and had made her fragile heart twist even more. She had thought and thought and thought about all her mother had said, and the more she had thought of it, envisioned her mother here before her again, the more she felt a intense dislike build up inside of her. Her mother had always done everything for her, so she could not hate her and yet still…She wanted to; god she wanted to hate her.

The hours had slipped by of her lying there uselessly, waiting for anyone to come and force her to do what they wanted her to do again. A puppet, a doll…Was that all she had become? Was that all she had ever been? She had thought and thought and thought about it, the flower pressed to her chest, until she could not seem to think anymore.

She had been watching with sad eyes the sunlight as it moved across her room from her small glass window, and it had been when the last rays if sun had reached the foot of her bed that she had thought of it, an electric shock going through her body.

Of course, the window!

Only a thin pane of glass separated her from the outside world; only a thin pane of glass separated her from Hades. She had stood before the window, thinking desperately of anything she could break it with, until she remembered it; the large diamond her mother had gotten her when she had been a child.

The large diamond that, she had realized, her mother had stolen from Hades and the boundless riches he had in the Underworld. That more then anything had been the deciding factor that had raised her arm and hurled that littering rock—a present from her mother—right through the glass and the reflection of herself she had seen in it. Only, she had not really seen her reflection in it—she had seen her mother's. The blue eyes, the long auburn hair… She had hit her mother, broke her into a million pieces and she had not, when crawling through the empty frame, cared.

Love had a way of changing people, she had heard. And as she rain wildly through the forest now, leaves getting caught in her hair, feet pounding into the earth's soft soil, she believed that. She was running away from everything she had ever known and she was not afraid. Months ago, before any of this ever happened she would have been terrified to even leave her mother's side. But now…Here she was running away from her, and she could not have felt more alive.

The sky was darkening above her, but she paid it no heed. There was little moonlight but she could still see; she had only her love and the blue flower she still clutched in her hand to guide her as she made her way at a fast rate through forests, once in awhile out of the corner of her eye seeing the flicker of the curious face of a nymph—perhaps one of her old friends—as she hurtled her way over the rough stones of the earth, the fallen logs and mossy tree bases. She did not know how far she was supposed to go, or even which direction she was running in—so long as she got away, she did not care. She could live on her own for a few days if need be, until she got her bearings right and knew where the entrance to the Underworld was located. She tried to spot things, as she ran that she hoped she might remember from the last time she had run away to him. But it was too dark, and she could barely even see the path in front of her that she was making. One foot in front of another, just run, run, run…

Unfortunately however Persephone was not as physically strong as the other goddess', and her endurance could be said to be on the low side, despite her immortal disposition. Soon it became harder and harder to keep a steady sprint, her steps slowing, fumbling, to a weaker gait as her breath raggedly tore out of her, sweat beaded on her brow. And for the first time in her entire immortal existence Persephone felt almost…mortal. The feel of the air was fresh in her lungs, the pull of fatigue slowing her steps as her heart pounded heavily in her chest. Everything seemed just that more real, that more alive as she slowed to a walk and, with one final desperate breath, a stop. The forest was breathing around her in a way that she had never noticed before, the winds—which seemed to be at war with each other—tugging her in all directions as she greedily gulped down air, for the first time noticing how wonderful oxygen was, how precious breath was.

As an immortal she really did not have to breathe at all, but this… Her body was pleasantly relaxed as she slumped down on the forest floor, staring down at her now dirty white nightdress to the tops of her knees that stuck out. They were no longer knobby knees, like they had been when she'd been a child but the legs of a woman, artfully shaped and curved just so with muscles that she felt burning at that very moment, making her painfully aware of every extension of her body. The air rushed in her lungs, in and out, in and out in a rhythm that soothed her as she looked around for the first time, squinting in the dark to try to make out her settings.

She was in a clearing, and the pale amount of moonlight that drifted down allowed her to see that she was very much alone and the branches of the trees were thick with leaves—overall, the perfect cover. She sighed, relieved; she was safe here, in the traces of moonlight amidst the flowering trees.

And she was alone, pleasantly alone.

Or at least, that was what she thought.

Unknown to the young goddess, she had been followed from the very beginning by a pair of curious dark eyes that would not let her out of their sight.

The being had followed the goddess in her plight, disappearing into flashes of light that Persephone had mistaken as the flashes of the forest nymphs.

Now as the goddess of the spring stood on feet covered in dirt, the being decided to make itself known and, with a small snort, stepped out of the trees behind Persephone.

At the sound Persephone snapped her head around, reeling backwards and stumbling as her eyes fastened on the intruder, and all the air left her lungs in a gasp. She simply could not believe her eyes.

Standing there, shining brightly in the dark stood a doe made entirely of gold, its dark eyes—the only dark thing on it—staring deeply into her own as though the little animal could read her soul.

Persephone gaped at it for awhile, trying to collect her sense and get rid of the awe. She was a goddess—she should be used to such spectacular otherworldly sights but…this does… The way it stared at her in silence, the way its delicate nostrils quivered with each breath…

For some reason this little doe made a sense of calm descend upon her, and under its dark gaze she found each and every ache in her body—even the ones she did not know she had—relax as her heart settled, calmed. She was still in the doe's eyes, barely breathing as the animal took a tiny step towards her and the golden radiance around it seemed to flare to life. And she stopped breathing entirely.

"H-Hello…" she whispered to it, pushing down the awe, "What are you doing here girl?"

The deer said nothing—how could it? It just took another step towards her until it was about a foot away from her, moving its head back to maintain eye contact. This doe…Was it even an animal completely? She stared deeply into those all knowing dark eyes, and wondered. Was this a god in disguise? Or a human that had been turned into an animal and was under some kind of enchantment? She stared harder, trying to see, searching, and was so absorbed that she jumped when she felt a warm muzzle brush her hand. The doe was in front of her now, head tilted back to continue staring at her with its enchanting eyes, imploring her…Imploring her to do something.

"What is it girl?" Persephone whispered breathlessly, "What do you want me to do?"

The doe snorted once, twice, the warm breath brushing up against her like a velvet touch before the animal turned, in a flash of gold, and began to walk away, back towards the forest. She stared after it, torn. Did it want her to follow…?

At the edge of the clearing, glowing like a candle in the dark, the doe turned back, dark eyes almost glowing as she snorted once, twice again. And that was the only other sign Persephone needed.

She knew that it was odd of her to be following this animal, this doe that she did not know, but the brilliance she emitted, her gentle eyes… Persephone had to trust her. Besides, what else was there for her to do? Maybe this doe could lead her to Hades…?

Her heart jumped, and she sped up, following the rays of light the doe cast upon the dark world opening a pathway for her to follow.

And follow she did, not once glancing back at the gathering shadows behind her as she was led farther and farther away from home.


	14. Meetings of Strife

The Last Bite

Chapter 14: Meetings of Strife

Disclaimer: I don't own the Greek myths, no matter how insanely cool they are!

Thank you to all those who reviewed! I am sorry it took so long to update, and that it's so short--unfortunately I had the Writer's Block Flu, which by the way is almost as bad as the Swine Flu! I kinda wish I got the Swine Flu instead just so I can write more!

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She was not sure how long she walked, or where she was going. All Persephone really was aware of was the gentle light the little doe in front of her was emitting, and the tranquil silence that blanketed the silent world. It was as though she had entered another world entirely, a world of shadows and slithering light, a world removed from contests and crazed mothers and over ardent suitors. It felt so lovely to just walk on, carefree, nearly mindless to some unknown destination where she could find peace and hopefully, if she was lucky, the one she loved…

As though sensing her thoughts the golden animal before her snorted, pausing for a moment in their constant walking to throw a look back over her shoulder at the young goddess.

"What is it girl?" Persephone inquired, furrowing her brow in confusion. Around her she could see nothing, only trees and everything else ordinary. So what was there to stop for…? "Is there something you need…?"

Again the doe snorted, her dark eyes flickering in the light her body cast. Her eyes flickering almost…urgently, as though she were trying to convey something. But as to what… Persephone was left to guess.

"Really girl, what is it? Is there something that's—"

It was at that moment that whatever the golden doe had stopped for, happened. The air seemed to split as from the dark shadows that bordered the mystical animal's golden light a figure emerged, and the poor kind doe could only give her one last urgent, almost frightened look before the figure was upon her with a cry, the golden light dimming as from her throat Persephone loosed a cry that went straight to the heavens.

--

All was quiet on Mt Olympus when they began to appear. It was oddly silent, seeing as most of the gods were out hunting Arbela, leaving just the goddesses and the gods who were already taken lounging around in eternal luxury.

"I need to find a new pet," Aphrodite, in all her lovely splendor, spoke up to the other goddesses, her eyes trained on the tiny hand held mirror she was currently primping in. From her throne Hera rolled her eyes.

"Please, it's not as though you don't have enough already."

"I know, but…" Aphrodite pouted prettily at herself in the mirror, "They're so amusing! Hera, you should really try to find one sometime."

"I would, but that would mean stooping to my dearest _loyal_ husband's level," the goddess bitterly replied, "And Zeus will surely get me for that."

"I'm telling you, Hera, you really ought to watch him more diligently," Artemis, from her perch on the edge of the golden steps that led to the thrones, joined the conversation, shooting a frown back at Hera.

"I can't do that," the resigned Hera sighed, "He'd surely notice, and that will only make him angrier. Besides…I love him too much to ever really get angry at him, only the wenches he decides to romp with. Those despicable mortals…"

"I suppose that this is all my son's fault, in some form or another," Aphrodite sighed, glancing up from her mirror long enough to give Hera an apologetic look. "Eros always has to experiment with different couples. Something about how 'opposites attract' or something like that."

"Well he really needs to stop meddling," Hera sighed, "He's caused too much trouble already, especially between sweet young Persephone and that ghoulish Hades." She trembled quietly at the idea, not noticing the slits of crimson that narrowed at her from the shadows of a nearby pillar.

"Actually…" Artemis mumbled, "I'm not sure if Eros really had anything to do with their love. I think that…it just happened."

"Just happened?" Aphrodite repeated, busy toying with her golden hair. "That can't happen Artemis, you know that; not in this world it can't."

"But what if the fates set them up?" the goddess of the hunt persisted.

"Why would they do such a thing?" Hera arched a brow, "That would mean connecting Olympus to the Underworld, and that…That just can not happen!"

"And why can't it?"

It was not a woman's voice who answered, nor was it the voice of any of the three goddesses. Silence descended on Mt Olympus as from the shadows the silent observer revealed himself, the light casting an almost ethereal glow on his pale skin, sending shadows into his already raging eyes.

Hera jumped from her throne, Artemis rose from the steps and Aphrodite actually put her mirror down.

It was inconceivable to see him here, but he was. The lord of the Underworld had for the first time in so long emerged on My Olympus, and this time he was not alone. Behind him, emerging in flashes of darkness and smoke souls of the dead began to appear, bound by some dark magic that only Hades could possibly manipulate. The three judges of the dead took their stance next to their lord as they looked to the goddesses, still so speechless and frozen in shock.

A smirk was on Hades lips as he took another step forward onto the mountain of luxury, in his hand a large sword that glowed red hot with fire—all his inner heat—as he raised it to point at the now slightly trembling Hera, forcing her to step away form her throne.

There was no threat of death, of course, seeing as they were all immortal. There was however the threat of injury, the threat of never being the same again. Especially when it involved the sword of Hades. Hera was no fool—she knew that Hades' red hot blade contained some sort of magic that would send her somewhere, probably to the Underworld, perhaps even the mortal world. Hera could not—and would not—risk a thing.

"Queen of Olympus," Hades smirked, drawing the blade closer. "I've come here on a mission, and in the end…nothing will be the same again." Passion danced in his crimson eyes as he leaned forward, his hot breath tickling the goddess' cheek as he whispered for all to hear.

"Tell me where Hermes is. Tell me where he went, now."

Hera shuddered again, opened her mouth to reply—

When a cry from a voice Hades knew so well arose from below, and, paling, the god of the dead forgot everything in his worry.

"Persephone!"

--

From the confines of strong arms the little doe watched her with dark, unblinking eyes, her ears swiveling at the sound of the young goddess' cry of alarm. The figure that had the doe caught in their grasps turned at the sound, the thin streaks of light provided by the moon and the otherworldly golden light the doe let off providing just enough light for the two faces of the immortals to be distinguished, and Persephone felt her heart drop as she stared into the familiar face of her childhood friend.

"Hermes…"

Hermes stared back at her with startled light eyes, his grip on the young deer's body slipping as he openly gaped at the woman he loved.

"P-Persephone? What are you doing here?! I though that you were back home—"

And just like that Persephone felt her shock wear off and the grudge she felt against him, the god who had helped imprison her in the first place, the god that had taken away her happiness for selfish reasons, rise with a force that could rival the wrath of her beloved.

"How _dare _you?!" she snarled, tiny hands curling into fists. "How dare you even mention that you dirty, rotten son of a—"

"Persephone, please!" Hermes cut her off, dropping the golden doe as he reached out to the goddess who wasted no time in evading his grasp.

"Don't touch me, Hermes, don't even say my name!" she hissed, "this is all your fault you know; my heartache is all your fault!"

"Heartache?" Hermes repeated, his jaw tightening, "Persephone, what you felt for Hades was by no means love or even—"

"How do you know?" she screeched, "How do you know anything about our relationship?!"

"Because it's not supposed to be!" Hermes yelled back, "Because we were supposed to be together, it was meant to be!"

"Actually Hermes, it wasn't."

Somewhere from the shadows—where the silver moonlight and the fawn's glowing golden light met—another figure emerged, gentle green eyes looking back in forth between the infuriated Persephone and the desperate Hermes.

"Eros…" Persephone's eyes softened on the god of love, and if she was not so angry she would have smiled at him.

"Eros," Hermes choked out in greeting, scarcely taking his eyes off of Persephone. "What do you want?"

Eros sighed lightly, the wings on his back fluttering slightly as he took a step forward so that he was almost between the two friends. "Hermes," he began, "You need to stop pursuing Persephone."

Immediately Hermes snapped startled, angry eyes to him, hurt flashing across his face. "What?! Why?!"

"Because it is not meant to be Hermes; I know for a fact that she is not the one for you."

"Damn right she isn't!" Hermes scoffed, "she's the _only _one for me!"

Eros face took on a look of sadness and pity as he looked into the adamant face of Hermes, slowly shaking his head. "No, this is not what the fates have decreed—"

"Eros."

It was at that moment that the distinct voice of the goddess of the seasons joined the fray, and in her chest Persephone felt her heart seize, her eyes trailing over to the dark spot behind Eros. And sure enough there stood her mother, eyes that mirrored her own instantly meeting hers and making Persephone's heart hurt as much as her head raged.

"Mother—"

"Eros, you should not be here," Demeter kept her eyes on her daughter as she addressed the god of love, "This issue does not concern you."

"Concern me?" Eros huffed, "Demeter, you know what must happen—"

"No," Demeter almost savagely cut him off, "Not my baby; that bastard can't have her again!"

"Mother!" Persephone managed to find her voice again, and it was harsh even to her own ears. "I'm a woman now, dammit! Let me make my own choices!"

"You're a woman that makes the wrong choices!" Hermes replied angrily, and Persephone threw him a glare harsh enough to make him wince.

"Hermes is right Persephone, you must listen to him!" Demeter urged in a fierce voice, "Hades will only use you as a way to get to Olympus! You don't belong in the darkness dear, Eros, the Fates—they're all wrong!"

"Are not!" Eros objected, "Persephone, what you feel for Hades is meant to be! You must feel it—"

"You are not to say another word!" Demeter snarled, advancing on the god of love. "Don't fill her head with those lies—"

"Mother, leave Eros alone!" Persephone admonished, "Why won't you just accept the truth? I love Hades, and I'm going back to be with him!"

"No, you aren't," Hermes stepped in, reaching out to grab a hold of Persephone's arm. "You're coming back to your house where you can gain some sense!"

"But I have sense dammit!" Persephone snarled, "_You're _the one that doesn't have any! Gods, let go of me!"

"Hermes, don't!" Eros called, and fluttered his wings frantically.

Hermes only response was to tighten his grip on her arm, all but dragging her over to where Demeter stood with a look of slight worry on her face.

"Hermes, maybe you should loosen your grip a little," she ventured, and earned a slightly frantic look.

"Demeter, she might get away again! And I can't lose her a second time, not when I know I won't be able to get her back!"

Demeter was in the process of replying when suddenly, in the span of a second, everything changed. The pale slivers of light provided by the room vanished, leaving the area in a covering darkness that left all of the gods standing there blindly, holding their breaths, waiting for something to happen—

"Damn right you won't get her back."

The sinister voice broke the air just as Persephone's arm was all but ripped out of Hermes grasp, leaving the messenger god in a state of shock as he whirled around to face the intruder, Demeter's small gasp lost as his eyes met the glowing, furious ones of none other than the lord of the dead.

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Leave a review if you want to make my day! Oh, and note that Hades is not supposed to be 'evil', he just will do anything to get Persephone back! That, and I'm thinking he might be a teensy bit insane... hehe


	15. The Bittersweet Fruit

The Last Bite

Chapter 15: The Bittersweet Fruit

Disclaimer: I do not own the marvelous myth of Hades and Persephone, or any other for that matter. I do own Arbela though, even though she's a deer… Wow, that'll get me far, ha.

A/N: I completed this chapter in the fastest time I could for all of you who reviewed! Thank you so much; I never thought that this story would be so popular! I just wrote it randomly one day and to think, that spur of a moment thing would earn me over 100 reviews! Though really reviews don't matter: i write to entertain others, and although I appreciate the feedback, so long as you read it, even without leaving a comment, I'll be happy. So thank you to all who even glance at this story—you are the fire that feeds my writing passion!

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It seemed improbable that the conditions among the various gods and goddesses could possibly get any worse but just like that—with the arrival of the deity that had been the start of all the problems in the first place—they did.

It seems as though all had frozen eternally as Hades, with vicious red eyes and a matching snarl that would send any mortal man to his early grave on his lips, held the startled form of Persephone to his chest tightly, fists curled so tightly around her upper arms that there was little doubt that there would be bruises. A part of Persephone reregistered that she was back with her beloved even before her mind did, that part of her heart he had stolen fluttering excitedly as the aching that had been present within it for far too long ceased. She could only lift her head, ignorant to even the bruising pain exerted in her arms, and stare up through long lashes dazedly at Hade's handsome face, not even really noticing the utter anger his face geld. So long as she could finally see his features…

"Hades…"

Her quiet whisper was what inevitably shattered it all, and brought the alarmed Hermes, the shocked Eros, and the silently fuming Demeter all back into actions at once.

"My lord Hades, what—" Eros tried, but his voice was only lost quickly in the utter anger and—as odd as it was—darkness in Demeter's voice.

"You! You rapist, you kidnapper! How dare you TAKE MY DAUGHTER AGAIN—"

But Hades would not stand for it, not anymore. Ignoring Hermes, who was openly shooting daggers at him now, he wasted no time in yelling right back at the woman who had stolen his happiness away from him.

"How dare _I_, Demeter?! How dare I!! You stole her from _me_, damn you! And all for selfish reasons, you selfish, self seeking, pig of a woman! You don't even deserve to be called this woman's mother—"

"Don't you DARE even say that!" Demeter was shrieking, her voice resounding through all the lands, "How DARE you when all of this was all YOUR fault to begin with—!"

"It was NEVER my fault you foolish, spineless cow! Persephone wanted to stay with me, and all for yourself you unfairly STOLE her--!"

"That's right, I STOLE her! I took a page from your book and stole her away when her guard was down! How did it feel Hades, huh!? How did it feel to just have her snatched from you—"

"You had no right--!"

"Just as YOU didn't! You are nothing but a reeking mound of death! Go crawl back into your hole and rot away, you sorry excuse for a god! You'll _never_ take my daughter!"

Demeter was approaching Hades and Persephone before anyone really knew it, her jaw set determinedly, sky eyes flashing in fury as around her everything began to wilt, the trees shriveling, the grass darkening as it died as from above leaves fell in massive amounts, like blood gushing from a deep wound.

"Mother—" Persephone managed before she was thrown into a tug of war of sorts, her mother pulling one of her arms while Hades, with a dark growl, maintained his grip on her other.

"Let her go DAMN you!" Demeter hissed, and the sound was not that of a goddess, but of something that could only ever be found in the darkest part of the Underworld—the sound of a tortured soul reaching its limit. "She's MINE! I raised her, I gave her everything—"

"Mother, _please_—"

"She's all I have, dammit! My Persephone is all I have and you're trying to take her away from me!" Demeter yanked harshly on her daughter's arm, causing Persephone to wince and hiss in pain, trying futilely to get her arm out of her mother's grasp.

"Mother, you're hurting me—"

Hades would have noticed his beloved's discomfort, if he were not too busy facing off against her mother's wrath with a fury of his own. Just as Demeter's anger was killing the environment around them, so was Hades'. The leaves that were falling began to turn to ash under the heat he released, grass crumbling into burnt crisps beneath their feet as above the already dark sky became a complete black, the only light provided now coming from the silent Arbela watching not too far away, ears perked up as she listened intently to the interaction. And in her dark eyes she seemed to know—

"And you think that I haven't lost everything!?" Hades voice was all but a growl now, sending shivers down the spines of Hermes and Eros and even Demeter, even though she would never show it. "Do you really think that Persephone does not matter so much to me?!" His eyes were pits of fire as he all but wrenched the wide eyed Persephone from her mother's arms, pulling her roughly up against him to wrap his arms around her, holding tight and swearing on every fiber of his dark being that he would never let her go again, despite the looks of utter hatred the goddess of the seasons was already giving him.

"You know nothing about love," Demeter snarled, "How can you possibly expect to provide my daughter for what she needs?! How do you expect for her to live without sunlight? To live without all she loves? She is the goddess of the spring, a daughter of the earth! She will not survive in your dark world!"

Hades felt his heart tighten up in his chest as he knew that Demeter's words had hit some truth. Persephone was all light—that was what had originally attracted him to her in the first place. She was everything he had never had and always wanted, bottled up inside her lovely petite frame and sparkling sky blue eyes. He had wanted her for only himself, and had never really taken into consideration what the Underworld would mean to her, what it would do to her. True, the woman in his arms still held all of her original vibrancy, but the question of how long it would last haunted Hades. When would the endless shadows of the Underworld, his world, creep into her veins and possess her? When would she not become the goddess of light that had caught his heart in her brilliance? If she lost her light in his realm, all for him… Would he still love her then?

The troubles anguish of his thoughts must have been portrayed on his face, as Hermes, who had been watching the entire display from the sidelines with Eros, decided to point it out. "Ah-ha, he is conflicted!" the messenger god triumphantly said, "See Persephone? He does not yet know what he wants from you! He's using you in some way, he's trying to trick you into loving him—"

It was then that Persephone, who under the pressure of so many people, who had been struck dumb by their screams, their sheer wrath, found herself again in Hermes' words. In a voice that she scarcely recognized as her own she turned around in Hades arms to pin him with a glare that rivaled her love's behind her.

"Hades would _never _trick me into anything, Hermes," she hissed, eyes narrowing into slits, "And just stop trying to get me to believe that! I trust him completely! I…I love him!"

The sincerity of Persephone's words sent a groan of sheer anguish from her mother's lips, the goddess looking at her with an almost desperate look on her face. She had gone pale, the world that surrounded them growing colder by the second as above the skies seemed to start to cloud with the threat of snowfall, a blizzard that would surely wreck havoc on mankind.

Eros, the only one not drawn so completely into the personal conflict of the whole affair, noticed this and fluttered his wings in worry. With a final glance at the fighting gods he dissolved back into the ever darkening shadows and took to the skies in a flash of light that was so fast that it went unnoticed, his resolve set as he made his way to Mt. Olympus…

Not one of those caught in the quarrel noticed his absence as Persephone suddenly became more than what they just argued about—she became a part of it.

"Persephone…" Demeter whispered, her voice so full of anguish, of disgust, that Persephone felt—for the briefest of moments—pain squirm around in her heart. After everything this woman had done to her she was still her mother, and the old cherished memories she had of her… they could not ever just fade away. They hung heavily in the air now between the mother and the daughter, memories of smiles and sunshine, of a young Persephone always grabbing her mother's hand for support as they walked along, of Demeter teaching Persephone how to draw the sun out from behind the clouds, how to feel the heartbeat of the heart…

Demeter had helped Persephone with so much, loved her so much… that it almost seemed to be enough. It almost seemed to be, but as Persephone leaned back into Hades embrace, as she felt his strong arms wrap around her and felt—in all areas of her heart—the resounding feeling of _rightness_, she knew that this was where she belonged now.

"Mother, Hermes," she began again, more firmly, "I don't care about the sunlight, or the forests or anything like that; all I really care about now is Hades. Everything else…Pales in comparison!"

"You don't mean that!" Demeter raged, her eyes flashing painfully as one of her hands raised to grip at her chest, as though that would keep her heart from breaking. "You can't live without it…"

Persephone bit her lip until it almost hurt, using the pain to strengthen her resolve as she melted all the way back into Hades supportive figure, shaking her head slowly so that her fiery mane whipped around her in the slight breeze in a blaze of fire. "Maybe so. Maybe I can't live without the sunlight, and the earth and all I love, but…you know what? I don't think I would be able to live without Hades more."

More silence, more pain for the disgruntled, heartbroken mother, more jealousy for the desperate suitor. Persephone felt Hades squeeze his arms around her, felt his warm breath on the curve of her neck and smiled, despite the situation. Feeling as though she had no regrets as she lifted her arms to caress those around her waist, feeling almost giddy at how real they felt. He was really there, with her, holding her…

'Don't let me go,' she could only command him in her mind, placing her hand on top of his, 'Don't let me leave you again, please. I can't…'

"This is ridiculous!" Hermes abruptly hissed, his dark eyes boring into Hades fierce ones as they all but stared each other down.

"And how is it ridiculous?" Hades icily replied, "We love one another—get over it, boy."

Hermes grit his teeth at that, and Hades resisted a smirk. He knew the other god hated to be called boy, even though he technically was almost of the same age as Hades himself. Hermes had never really lost his boyish image however, and he knew it, and he suffered from it. If Hermes ever had an Achilles Heel it was his features, which Hades cruelly played upon.

"I am no boy…"

"Your appearance suggests otherwise, _boy_," Hades seethed back, "And I know that Persephone would never even consider a boy over a man like me. So tell me, why is it that you keep trying? It is impossible to break us apart now."

From the edge of the area, the golden doe let out a quiet snort which no one, especially Hades, paid attention to. He should have, because above all else the snort was a snort of warning…

"Is it really?" Hermes replied slowly, and across his boyish features a devious smirk began to smirk, and Hades, despite all his confidence, felt his heart start to sink. He had done many wrong things in his forever life, but then again what god hadn't? He had seduced his fair share of women; he had robbed few men of their rights. But they were all forgivable crimes in the eyes of the gods, the crimes being repeated offenses among all of them. So it seemed unlikely that Hermes could use any of that against him…

He shifted his hate-filled gaze to Persephone's mother, who was staring back at him with a rather unreadable expression on her face. It looked as though a battle was being waged in her head, her features fighting between relief and some odd mix of sorrow that he could not understand. And her gaze…

"Persephone," Hermes was still smirking as he addressed the goddess he loved, so safely tucked away in another's arms. She gave him a scowl and a worried glance, taking strength from Hades solid form behind her to answer.

"What is it now?" It was hard to miss the trace of exasperation in her tone. She really was getting fed up in all of this, and wanted nothing more than to fade into the Underworld with Hades and curl up against him and lose herself. She had never experienced so much drama in her life, and she realized that she was really, really, really hating it.

"Tell me Persephone…"

Hades tensed up behind her imperceptibly as Hermes began, but she felt it nonetheless. Inside, her heart began to pound faster and faster in dread, and she gripped Hades arms around her tighter as she forced herself to listen to the words. In the background, Arbela could be heard snorting softly again, urgently, stamping her little golden hooves on the ground. Only Demeter glanced over, and when she did the deer was struck silent again by the promise of pain in the goddess's eyes.

"What did Hades give you before I arrived to save you from the Underworld that first time?"

Persephone blinked slowly, bewildered. "I don't—"

"Yes, you do," Hermes cut her off intensely, his eyes searing into her in such a way that she felt naked, exposed, and shifted uncomfortably. "He told you take it, and when I showed up, he told you to eat it…"

It was connecting slowly. The sweet taste of red juices on her tongue as she emerged into the sunlight, alive again, thinking she had just escaped from her hell which she only saw now as the only place she wanted to be. She remembered the look in his eyes when he had handed her that piece of fruit, that longing, intense look that had made her heart quiver in fear and confusion, the hint of sorrow those crimson eyes had reflected, the color of the fruit he had shoved upon her, _begged_ her to eat—

"A pomegranate…" she whispered aloud, more to herself than anyone else. "He gave me a pomegranate…"

"Yes!" Hermes nodded enthusiastically, encouraged. "And what did he say—"

"That is enough!" Hades roar cut him off, and he all but picked the bewildered Persephone up into his arms to smother her against his broad chest. "Don't you dare try to fill her head with lies boy! The pomegranate had been a simple goodbye gift—"

"A goodbye gift?!" Demeter shrieked, half in rage and half in laughter. "Oh that's great Hades, that is superb! My daughter doesn't even know, does she? She doesn't know a damn thing about what you tried to do!"

Persephone felt every muscle in Hades body tense, and although she reached up a hand to rest it on his cheek reassuringly, she was turning to peer over her shoulder at her mother with curious, weary eyes. She wanted to know, she did, but the fear, the tenseness of Hades' posture…

"What?" she all but whispered, "W-What is it? Just t-tell me…"

Hades was like a statue against her, growing colder by the second. "Persephone, please don't—"

"Oh, so he didn't tell you, did he?" Hermes smirk was smug as he glanced between Persephone's worried and frantic blue eyes and Hades nervous and furious ones. Let's see how Persephone will think of him after this.

"You see Persephone, there is a law in the Underworld where, if a person that is alive and brought down there and eats a piece of food from the world of the dead, that living soul is forever bound to it, and unable to leave no matter what."

Persephone's heart was racing, her mind spinning as she struggled to see what she had so blatantly ignored, as she thought back to the sorrow that had been in Hades eyes, his stiff posture, the gleam in his eyes… Something was tearing apart inside of her as realization floundered to the surface, paired with so much shock, so much damn anguish—

"He…wouldn't do that to me…" she whispered in the faintest of voices, and in her ear heard his equally quiet reply.

"Persephone…please…"

"Oh but he did!" Hermes smiled then, and in Persephone's mind it was the smile of her heart's executioner. "Hades gave you that pomegranate and told you to eat it then to keep you with him forever, against your will. He tried to _trick_ you Persephone; the man you now claim to 'love' tried to trick you…"

Words repeated in her mind like a dying mantra. He tried to trick her... the pomegranate... She had never had dinner with him, her food until then had always been from the surface, never from his world...

And Persephone could no longer feel the strong arms around her waist as the loud yelps of the suddenly frantic Arbela blended with the sound of her heart breaking.

* * *

There it is chapter 15. Well, of course there had to be some controversy; I wish I could, but I couldn't just have our couple get away without a little bruised hearts, ha! Ah, the beauty of drama… And the bastardness of Hermes! Yeah, now I don't even like him that much… Oh, well leave a review if you want and tune in next time to see what Persephone does about this revelation that is the ultimate classic part of the myth!


	16. No Heart

The Last Bite

Chapter 16: No Heart

A/N: Thanks to everyone that reviewed! This chapter is for you guys, and I apologize for not updating sooner; I'm officially out of high school! Friday was my last day, so things are going to be changing for me. But don't worry; I'm definitely gonna have to finish this story now! : )

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It felt like she was in the aftermath of a world disaster. Everything suddenly seemed to distorted and broken, and in her head she could scarcely hear the screams of the mortals as they fled, the sound of Mt Olympus as it split into two, Zeus roaring as lightning split the skies. It felt like she was falling through a tunnel, falling back into the Underworld like she had that first time when Hades had taken her and started this all, the feeling of déjà vu enhanced by the strong familiar arms around her waist, crushing her and refusing to let go. And just like before, the harder she struggled, the tighter he held.

"Let me go!" she could vaguely hear herself say; reminiscent of the same plea she had sent to him before, when he had taken her through all those dark passages, passed by all those dying souls begging for salvation. _Let go, _she had asked.

_Never, _he had answered.

And now, in the wake of the end of the world—which was really only her world—he leant down again to fiercely whisper again in her ear that familiar phrase. "Never."

She should have struggled more, and she would have. She would have, if things had been the same as they had the first time they had exchanged those familiar words. But somewhere along the line, things had evolved. Somehow, through months of pain and anguish and despair, she had lost her heart to the god she had sworn to hate.

Somewhere along the line, Persephone had grown into a woman, just as she had grown to love the god that could be nothing more than a misfit.

So who was she now to pull away from him? Who was she now to not give in and stop her struggling? Her heart hurt, her head spun, and she still heard the screams in her head, and yet she felt light at his single muttered word.

Never, she repeated it again in the core of her soul, traced it again and again until it was all but engraved on her hemorrhaging heart. Never.

"H-Hades…"

"Let my daughter go!" Somewhere in the back of Persephone's mind she heard her mother growl, and clung closer to Hades even as more of her heart unraveled at the voice. It just reminded her of where she was, who was watching her, what he had done…

And again, weakly, she could only whisper in anguish the name of her beloved, as though praying him to take it away, as though asking him in only his name to take it all back, to just take her away back to his dark kingdom of pretend. She summed it all up in some tortured whisper that would only serve to inflict more pain upon her crushed heart.

"Hades…"

He held her closer, tighter, as he glared over her crown of fiery hair at those who wished to rob him of her, at the damn god who could possibly have ruined it all. If he weren't so afraid of her leaving him if he were to let her go, Hades would have surely inflicted his entire wrath on the smirking, conceited bastard known as Hermes.

"Hades, just let her go," the winged messenger implored, taking a step towards them. "It's obvious she doesn't want to be with you anymore. Isn't that right, Persephone? He _lied _to you, he tried to _force _you to stay with him. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

In his arms Hades felt the slim body shake, felt her hot breath shudder smoothly across his neck. The only support he could even think to offer anymore was to hold her even closer and hope that it could be enough. If only it could ever be enough. The body against his was starting to fill with tension, the breathe catching against his neck as the words began to hit her, like physical slaps to the heart.

Demeter seemed to notice this, and, as desperate to get her daughter back as Hermes was, preyed upon it. "Persephone, my dearest one, please, listen to your mother. Don't trust him. Has he even ever done anything to prove his love to you?"

From the cocoon of Hade's arms Persephone heard her mother, and as much as she really didn't want to listen to her, she did. She could not seem to stop repeating them in her head.

"My dearest one, please, he might just be using you! Don't you think he doesn't want to wreck revenge on you for not staying with him?"

_Revenge…_

The word was an arrow through the dark, was the poison that leaked from lips that had been kissed too little. It was the fire that had for so long been burning underneath of them, unknown, just waiting to be unleashed and incinerate them both. And now, unleashed, unrestrained, it did just that. And it started with the seeds of doubt being planted.

Within her chest, Persephone felt her heart churn, lost in a sea that had no shore all of a sudden. Revenge…? The possibility had never occurred to her before, at least not that she was aware. But as it was released upon her already damaged heart, there was a twinge of familiarity. Yes, something told her, she had thought that, somewhere, hidden deep in the unconscious, in the shadows the light of her love for him had created. There, it whispered: _Revenge_… And she could not ignore it.

Hades could feel her start to slip away. He could feel it in the tensing of her muscles, the spike of cold in her body. Desperate to pull her back to him, even though she was already in his arms, being practically squeezed to death, he turned his attention to trying to defend himself instead of assuaging her: his biggest mistake.

Hades had never thus far in his eternal life had to ever think of anyone other than himself. It had always just been him—defending himself, protecting himself, being his own best friend, his own shoulder to cry on. So now, to have love in his life, to have someone else, was something that he was not used to, and, if he wanted to be honest, might never get used to. After spending so much time alone, without light, how would he know what to do when he had it? He knew how to kiss her, to love her, to hold her. But beyond that?

Sometimes, there had to be more than love. Sometimes, there had to be trust, a foundation, which for them was thus far a bed of flames.

So it was no surprise, really, that Hades first instinct was to defend himself, was to cast aside the one person who had become his world. So simple, and yet so breaking.

"I am not so petty to seek revenge over such a thing!" he fought back, the words leaving his mouth without a conscious thought, leaving an invisible burning trail like an arrow, aimed at the heart of his beloved. And there it was, the final blow hidden in careless words: _over such a thing. _

A thing…? Her lips formed the question, but she could not ask it. It was far too painful, and her own heart was clogging her throat. So all she was to him was a thing…? All that he had felt for her then…?

She went cold in his arms, limp, all her strength abandoning her. For a moment there was only silence, ringing blissfully in her ears, hanging heavily in the air. In the distance Arbela snorted nervously, her light growing sharper and sharper until the god of the dead began to realize, somewhere in his heart, what he had said. What he had said—

"Oh gods…" For the first time in his life, his voice was a breathless whisper. "Persephone…" He reached down, reached out, reached only for her even though she was already there, pulling her away almost roughly to stare down into her wide, traumatized blue eyes, his own horrified ones reflected in the endless skies of hers. Bloodless, he stared at her, grabbed her shoulder until they began to bruise. "Persephone—"

But then other hands were on her, yanking her out of his already painful grip into the gentle yet firm grasp of her mother. Persephone, unwilling to stare into those anguished crimson eyes anymore, finds herself regressing, finds herself turning her face back into the breast of her mother like she had done not so long ago, she thinks, closing her eyes to the world and letting the tears begin to fall one by one by one.

Hades, seeing only his light turn from him, does not notice anything but her and makes to follow her, only to find a fist hurled mercilessly in his face. Just like that he was falling down. From her spot in Demeter's arms Persephone forced her eyes open, blue irises clouded with tears flashing to him, and for a moment he can see the concern, can see her try to pull from her mother's arms—

Only to be yanked harshly back. The collision with her mother's fragile body as soft, as she should have expected, and yet she was still looking for the pain that action should have provided. Where were the aching ribs to go along with her aching heart? It only made sense, in her crushed mind.

Behind her Hades hands curled into fists, and through the burn of his own pain he felt the familiar stirrings of anger start to rise. Anger was good; anger he could fall back on; in anger, like so many times before, he may hope to forget.

"Give her back to me!" he hissed, even though in his heart he knew that he had already lost. Yet still, he could only try. "Give her back to me, damn you!"

Hermes moved in front of the mother and her daughter, shielding the pair as he faced Hade's glowing eyes with his own cold, flat ones. "Hades, I think you've said enough. I think it's time you went back down to the hell you came from."

A tense interval of silence, broken only by the quick broken sob of Persephone. She was not even aware of the sobs starting to escape her as she sank into the confines of her mother's arms, was not aware of Hermes swiftly turning to her to place a soothing hand on her shoulder. All she could see, through the tears and pieces of red hair falling in her eyes, were the smoldering eyes of her beloved. For all the anger he was showing, for all the darkness that surrounded him, she could still see the dead look in his eyes.

"H-Hades…"

He should have just stuck with his anger. He should have never let her whisper of his name into his heart, should have never let it strike a chord so deep within him that snapped. He should have never, when in the end it would all just have the same result. Suddenly he was no longer an angry man, he was a desperate man, his visage crumbling as with raw need he could only reply with all he knew in his bleeding heart.

"Persephone, my love, please, I am so sorry! I never meant it like that… And the pomegranate was just because I loved you so much--!"

She should have listened, she knew, but she couldn't. How could she even possibly be able to listen to him when it still felt to her as though the world was suffering through an apocalypse? She could scarcely hear anything over her own heartbeat.

Hades was waiting for her to react; to cry some more, to run into his arms, to do anything at all really. But instead she just stared at him some more with those teary heartbreaking eyes, and all the breath he had started to gain was knocked right out of him. He could read it in her eyes, even though it wasn't there. He could see the words on her lips even though she couldn't speak at all. Hades was classically jumping to conclusions and there was no one to hold him back.

His eyes flashed, his face hardened. He was drawing into himself, finding solace in himself as he had learned to do throughout the centuries. She rejected him, his mind kept whispering, she would not say anything to him. She would not even look at him…

What Hades couldn't realize was that Persephone simply _couldn't _look at him, not when she was frantically trying to understand. A part of her, the denial, told her that he hadn't meant it, and she could still see the love in his eyes hidden behind all that anguish. She knew that he had only tried to trick her out of love, but was that really enough? Was it enough to make it right?

She had hated him back then, so why would she have stayed? She could still clearly remember the joy she had felt to see Hermes standing there, breaking up the wedding with an outstretched hand and saving words: _"She's coming back to Mt Olympus Hades, by order."_

She had been more than happy to leave him behind then, that eternity ago that, now that she thought back to, seemed to be only a few days ago. How had her feelings changed so drastically? She raised a hand unconsciously to her chest, felt the pulse of the throbbing organ. Could change really happen so drastically? Had her heart or her mind evolved?

She couldn't think straight; she could barely feel anything at all, so used were her emotions. Doubts and hopes, prayers and logic… She could only lean back into her mother, that comfort she had had since she could remember, and let the tears fall.

Hades could not look away from her, could not stop studying her, even if it destroyed him even more. He saw the shudders trace through her delicate body, watched each tear he had caused slide down the gentle curve of her cheek with a concoction of satisfaction and pain in his chest. He had caused the one he loved to cry, and yet he felt almost happy about it. Almost as though this really was revenge for him, just as Hermes had mentioned. But that could not be—he loved her, he knew he did. He had loved her since he had first seen her, had loved her since he had first seen her blue eyes sparkle. But she had put him through so much pain, and again still was… So was it wrong, really, to feel satisfaction that this time she was experiencing some sort of pain too?

He watched with an impassive face as she leaned back into her mother and knew then and there that he had lost this battle today. He could not talk to her with Hermes and Demeter around that was for sure.

He took a step back, saw the smirk widen on Hermes face and glowered. So the boy thought he was retreating. Good, let him think that, let them all think that; he'd come back for her. He tried to tell her that with his eyes, tried to reach his heart out to hers through their now shaky connection, but she did not seem to see him at all; her eyes, in truth, looked right through him—another pain to add to countless others.

He'd be back for her, after he had what he wanted first. He'd come back to her when he controlled them all.

"Don't think this is over," is all he could say in the end, moving his eyes between Demeter and Hermes in one last heated glare before casting one last longing look at Persephone. And just like that, in a ring of fire and smoke, he was gone, leaving behind ashes to fall on the already dead grass.

With Hades gone, with Hades eyes no longer on her, Persephone allowed herself to turn into her mother's arms and sob her little heart out.

--

On Mt Olympus, everything was gloomy. The gods and goddesses all conjugated to observe what the issue was, only to see nothing at all. Mt Olympus, as far as they could tell, appeared the same as it always had. So what was the issue?

Only Aphrodite, Hera and Artemis knew.

They stood around Zeus's throne where the great god himself was seated, staring in turn at the goddesses and their pale faces, at the worry that covered them like a shadow.

"He was here," Aphrodite was stating again, in a voice that barely held the wisps of panic. "And he had those hideous judges with him—"

Zeus sighed, immediately cutting off the goddess's ramble, and shook his mighty head. "It's not that I don't believe you girls, it's just that I doubt my brother would be so inclined to do such a thing. He has never had a reason to threaten this world before, why would he think of doing it now?"

"Don't you see?" Hera snapped at her husband, "We delivered the final blow by taking Persephone away from him! He loves her Zeus, and you robbed him of that love. Naturally he'd want revenge!"

There were mutterings from the other gods, and Ares threw down his spear. "I always knew he was trouble!" the god of war growled, "Whenever I gave him souls he did nothing, did not thank me, nothing! It was always as though he could care less about how many souls I brought him, and how it would affect the Underworld. To me, he was always just a rich spoiled brat!"

More mutterings, more looks exchanged. Apollo, who had been standing quietly against a pillar, stepped forward. "I don't think it was just Persephone that drove him to his invasion of Mt Olympus. I think that Demeter's daughter was only the catalyst. For years he has been stuck in his Underworld, and for decades we have looked down on him for it. Clearly, more than anything he just wanted to prove that he too had power at his disposal, and he was tired of us seeing him as below us."

"Well what are we supposed to think?" Aphrodite exclaimed dramatically, "He is lord of the _dead_. Who would ever want to do that?"

"He never had a choice," Zeus quietly answered from his throne, his eyes cast down as all eyes snapped to look at him. "He…He chose it, back when we were establishing this world, and he had drawn the shortest straw. He didn't have a choice—none of us did."

None of them had; there had to be a loser. Zeus repeated this over and over in his head until it made the guilt start to fade, until it made him remember how fortunate he was to have Mt Olympus. Hades had gotten what the fates had decreed, he was sure. So then why did he still have a feeling of guilt deep within him…?

The gods were all still talking quietly, arguing in hushed tones when Eros arrived in a flurry of feathers, his lovely face pulled up in some form of pain. The mountain fell silent as he approached Zeus, and in his hand he clutched an object.

"Lord Zeus," the god of love quietly greeted, his normally bright eyes grave as he reached out to present Zeus the single sheet of paper that was crumpled in his hand. He said no more as Zeus took it, and with quick eyes read it.

_I didn't have a choice, but you did. The time has come, brother, for me to get the recognition I deserve. Wait until night falls._

Through a suddenly dry mouth, Zeus asked, "Where did you get this?"

Eros looked down at his hands, at the clouds they were spiraling around upon. "I…Found it on my way up here, posted on one of the pillars."

"Hades must have had his henchmen leave it!" Aphrodite exclaimed, "Proof that they were here, Zeus!"

The great god did not reply.

Zeus, for the first time in the centuries he had lived, for the first time since the beginning of time itself, felt his heart grow heavy and fall.

_Wait until night falls…_

Night time was only hours away.


	17. Breaks and Brinks

The Last Bite

Chapter 17: Breaks and Brinks

Disclaimer: I don't own the Greek myths, obviously, because if I did don't you think I'd be dead by now? '-_-

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The sky was starting to break as Apollo prepared to race his chariot across the sky one final time. There really was no cause for the darkening clouds forming on the horizon; no other cause but one god's strife and imminent war.

From the great corridors of Mt Olympus, every god gathered, even those who scarcely ever ventured to the mountain, to watch and wait for everything to crumble.

It never ceased to amaze Zeus. As he stared down from his throne at all the anxious gods and goddesses, their faces masks of fear and an excitement they could do little to hide, he was amazed. How was it that every being, whether it be god or mortal, was so fascinated in destruction? It was a major flaw not even any god could fix. It seemed that it was merely the way everything was, and there was no change from it. the beauty of an explosion, the pulse racing idea of knowing that one's life was on the line, even if there was not a life that could ever be ended in the first place, was a thrill that was dragging more and more in, and as he listened the quiet murmurs began to grow louder and louder as somewhere, Apollo prepared to bring about the night. Somewhere, deep underground, armies were gathering under the banner of the dead, as mortals swept on peacefully, unaware as to how close their world was to ending. Unaware as to what night fall would really bring, as Selena hung from her noose in the sky.

And the darkness would completely cover everything.

"Zeus," from his left side beside him, his wife worried. "What are we going to do? This has…This is almost inconceivable! Why would he want to dot his…?"

Zeus did not answer her right away, his eyes staring still at the maddening crowd, hearing the excited whispers, feeling the pulse of anticipation.

It was when Apollo, with a grim face, finally set off in his chariot, climbing lower and lower in the sky, that he had an answer for her.

"My dear, why wouldn't he?"

--

Within the confines of her little room, Persephone was trying her best to mend her shattered heart. She could vaguely feel the presences of her mother and Hermes at her back still as she let loose her torment into her pillow, into her bed sheets and filled the normally quiet, happy cottage with her tormented wails and sobs.

"Why?" she kept gasping between the breaks in her sobs, the sound distorted by all of her tears so that it was blurry. "Why…?"

No matter how hard she tried, she could not stop seeing his face. His handsome features, contorted in pain, in the misery that he had never truly been able to get rid of.

She should hate him for what he had tried to do to her. If she had dared take a bite of that tempting red fruit within the confines of his lair, if she had dared to that first bite which would ironically be her last…

He had tried to trick her, he had tried to make her stay with him, apart from everything she had needed. He had tried to trick her, to keep her with him, but…

It had all been for love. His intentions had never really been malicious, only desperate. He had not been thinking, had been so afraid of losing her…

Only now, in the small space of her bedroom, was she just now realizing this. What he had tried to do had been long, but…how could she really blame him? She now knew exactly what it felt like to give one's heart completely to another, and if that person were to try to leave them, possibly forever… Who knows that she wouldn't try to do that same damn thing?

She was not so selfless; in fact, now that she thought about it, thought back to all that she had done and all that she didn't do, she was starting to see how selfish she truly had been, for so long. Since when did she consider another over herself? She had not once thought about how devastated her mother was when she had run away to see him, and she had not thought about the consequences of her actions when it came to the earth in general. It was the gods' duty to watch and protect the mortals, not to bring about their destruction. And for so long, that was all that the gods had been doing. Did any of them think?

She thought of Zeus and his countless children, and the pain that Hera's jealousy brought about. She thought of Aphrodite, vanity too great as she destroyed those who so much as said one wrong thing about her.

And when she thought of all that, something inside of her that had been heavy for so long seemed to start to rise, a feeling that her entire life she had tried to repress. Mt Olympus was supposed to be paradise, but those who occupied it filled it with sin. They were all selfish creatures, and they all had never gotten any retribution for it.

But soon, when the night fell, they would.

She knew all about Hade's threat; the news of it ahd spread like wildfire, and only a few minutes ago she had heard through her deep sobs the sounds of her mother and Hermes discussing it outside her door, where they thought she couldn't hear them.

But she heard everything.

"_We have to keep her in her room; you know that during this attack he will try to find her again and take her."_

"_Fear not, Demeter, I doubt she'd want to leave her room anytime soon anyway. I've never seen her so upset… __**Damn**__ him!" _

"_I know, Hermes, I know dear boy, but we cannot let our anger control us; soon we shall get revenge when he is locked away with the titans, doomed to rot away for all eternity!"_

"_Do you really believe such a thing is possible? I mean, he's a god, and a strong one at that…and he has death on his side."_

"_Every being, boy, can be subjected to death's hands, whether they be immortal or not. Death leaves no one untouched, not even the one who controls it."_

Within the familiar warmth of her bed, she had wept more, and neither her mother nor her old friend could understand as to why. All beings could die—translation: he could die. And, if not die, at least be condemned to be locked away forever, at least loose him immortality. Both suggestions sickened her. She could simply not imagine her Hades ever falling to anyone, even Death, although the thought had never crossed her mind before.

To her, the immortals kept on living as the mortals passed away. To her, the immortals saw countless generations, new faces, old faces, alive faces and dead faces. Her world was black and white—the mortals died and the gods like her lived on. She had thought up until now that that was it, the order of things. She had overlooked the grey areas, the sins of the gods, the price there had to be to be an immortal.

No matter what there was always a risk; absolutely no one was safe, not even her. So what would this war of Mt Olympus bring? Within her skin she grew cold as the faces of the dead flashed through her mind, the faces of the damned and the trapped. Mortals bodies falling limp as her mother stared at her from a pit of fire in the Underworld, constantly burning. Hades, tormented by flames in his own realm, coals turning his skin dark as flames ripped into it, and lovely ruby eyes grew so distant—

Persephone didn't know she was screaming until her mother was yelling in her ear.

"My child, my child please! Your mother's here my love, don't fret any longer! I'm here…"

She was there, but she wasn't the person she wanted it to be. It was not the being who she had wronged so horridly, was not the one who had given her nothing but love.

And what had she given to him in response? She could still feel the pomegranate slipping soundlessly from her hands to wither in the sunlight on the earth, her mother's earth. She had not even thought about it, had not even thought of the depth of his love for one damn fleeting moment.

How could she have been so selfish? Again, she thought of all her selfish acts, all that she had and hadn't done. Each was a dagger in her breast.

It was all the act of a child, the child she was beginning to realize again and again that she still was. What did Hades ever see in her? She had never really been anyone at all, only the daughter of Demeter. Her whole life until him she'd been overlooked, a child of the earth that would simply toil in her soil and watch the world change in fits of laughter. She had been nothing until she had met Hades, and under his love she had become something. Under his love she had become the Queen of the Underworld.

And dammit, she was set on keeping that title now more than ever.

Her mother still had an arm around her shoulders, keeping her down more than reassuring her. Pinning her to her side, to the bed, to this cottage. To this life that she no longer wanted. Not when all she wanted was…

"Hades…"

She felt her mother stiffened, and felt a savage streak of vindication.

"Persephone, dear—" The arm around her had tightened, a bar that tried to lock her in place. "Really, don't think of that retched god, please. He is undeserving of you!"

For the first time since arriving in her room, Persephone dared to lift her face from her tear stained cheeks, and her red rimmed eyes fastened in a glare on her mother.

In a voice that brought a new wave of tension into the room, Persephone calmly responded. "And why is he so undeserving of me? Simply because he is the god of the underworld?"

Demeter's lips smacked together in a thin line, and in her mother's familiar blue eyes Persephone could see a storm brewing. "Persephone—"

"That's exactly why," Hermes, who had been sitting at the end of the bed silently until now, spoke up in a firm voice. "You should have no association with him, not when you belong in this world."

Within her chest, Persephone felt her already scarcely beating heart freeze up entirely as she turned her icy eyes away from her mother and on to him. There was suddenly so much pent up anger inside of her, clawing away at her insides that she found her lips drawing back into a snarl, found her eyes narrowing, her fair cheeks turning a dark red in her rage. For all that had been done, for the insisted separation, for the pain they both had brought her—

Never before had Persephone been so angry. Never before had Persephone ever looked more like the bride to be of Hades, the future Queen of the Underworld.

And both her mother and Hermes noticed this.

"_This _world?" her voice was a hiss, a snake ready to strike. "Why does there have to be a damn difference between the worlds! Those who occupy the underworld were once living beings too, like us! Those who control the Underworld are just as important! How in all of the world combine—the dead and the live—can you say there is a difference?!"

As she stared in between them, at her mother's tightened expression and Hermes faintly scowling one, she saw the truth. Bitter laughter bubbled in her throat like bile, and in one swift move she yanked herself away from her mother's arm, scrambling out of bed to stand, indignant and gloriously furious.

"Oh, now I see it; now I know the true reason why Hades wants to end Mt Olympus! All of you, _all of you_, are horrible! You're the ones who truly belong to burn in Hell's fire! You discriminating, selfish—"

"Silence yourself!" Demeter was suddenly on her feet too, eyes exactly like her daughter's as, for perhaps the first time, she dared raise her voice to her little girl. "Do not you dare speak of what you do not know! Hades has always removed himself from us, no matter how much we try to draw him in! If there is to be anyone's fault for this so called 'discrimination', girl, it should be his!"

Persephone could feel somewhere in the back of her eyes more tears start to prickle, and yet she still refused to let them fall. Not now; not ever again over Hades.

"It doesn't matter whose fault it was," she all but growled, as perhaps for the first time she ever stood up completely against her mother. "What matters now is that you both shame him, the one I love, when he is not here to defend himself!"

"Persephone, stop," Hermes voice sounded almost exasperated as he trained his weary eyes on her, his face creasing. "Stop saying you love him. You shouldn't. Not after what he tried to do—"

"He only ever did it because he loved me." Persephone's voice was eerily quiet now, yet the impact was no less severe; in fact, if anything the quiet voice only punctuated it. The flush that had taken over her cheeks was beginning to fade to a less severe color of pink, and yet her eyes still burned, burned as brightly as her beloveds always did. It would have made him proud to see, she knew, deep in her cracked heart that only beat in his name now.

Hades, Hades, Hades…

"He did it all for love; how can you condemn him for that?"

"What he felt for you was not love!" Demeter snapped, looking as though she wanted nothing more than to reach out and shake her daughter until she could no longer speak. "It was obsession, plain and simple! And you're lucky to have escaped from him! He _was not meant for you_!"

Persephone felt her head snap to the side as though she had been snapped, such was the venom traced in her mother's words like a physical blow. She only winced for a second, only allowed herself a moment to feel the hurt of knowing how deeply her mother disapproved, before she was glaring darkly at her once again, back straight, head up, the picture of defiance she never used to be.

"I don't care if he isn't really, because I don't give a damn about the fates now. The fates can interfere all they want mother, and so can you and Hermes and all you other prejudice gods, but I will never stop loving him. For all he's done and tried to do, I feel no anger towards him, no hurt. He only did it out of love, dammit, and I…I am seeing that too late. I have to go to him."

"You are not going _anywhere_," Hermes rebutted, "He's poisoning your mind Persephone! Don't you understand that? My god, what did he do to you in his hell before I whisked you away…?"

"He did nothing but love me, honor me, cherish me, and respect my wishes!" she fought back, "And you Hermes, you're no better than he was now, keeping me locked away and begging for my love!"

Hermes paled, the anger temporarily leaving him as her words struck home. It was Demeter who took over for him, her blue eyes dark with pain, disappointment and rage as she faced her daughter, the girl who had for so long been her life, her little flower. Her little flower, now decaying in the cold of Hades winter.

"You are not to leave your room, my child, ever. Not until this is all over."

"My love for him won't be over mother! This is not just a crush, as you seem to think; this is not just a tryst; this is _love_! Why can't you see that!?"

"He can't be the one for you," Demeter was wrapped in her illusions, safe behind her exaggerated illusions of grandeur for her only child, "You were supposed to be great, supposed to be light, like me, and guide the world when I couldn't. How can you be light Underground?"

"Mother, I can't be your light anymore!" The tears were starting to fall soundlessly down her cheeks again, curving over her reddened cheeks to reach her mouth, and all she could taste was the own salt her body produced. So bitter, so refreshing, so distracting as her mother took a step back, hurt cascading over those features Persephone could only remember before now as being vibrant. "I can't be your light when he's already stolen it! My light, now, is his light."

The God of the shadows, hidden amongst the dead, searching for the daylight he could never find, for the happiness that he had been deprived of for decades, centuries, perhaps millenniums. Who can know in the life of a god? Time was all but dead itself.

He needed her, a flower in the dead garden she had kissed him in, a star in the dark sky that hovered over him, a perpetual twilight. Who was she, who had until him been so unneeded, so discarded, to deny him?

Her mother's voice was tight with emotion, and in the pale light of the setting sun—creeping oh so steadily to the horizon—her eyes looked to be wet. "You are going no where, Persephone, no where. You will stay in your room and by Zeus if I don't make you stay put!"

Persephone could only turn her back on her mother, her childhood friend as they crept out of the room, her heart trembling in her chest but her face staying flushed, carefully blank. She would not look back on them; she would not look away from the light that shone in through her window which, she noticed with a bruised heart, had been boarded up with thick planks to she could only see outside through the thin cracks.

A bird in a cage, she thought as more tears fell. A flower in a pot.

She thought she heard Hermes mutter something akin to sorry to her before the door was shut, but she didn't dare believe it. She only listened to the lock turn, once, twice, until it was sealed, and if she were mortal she would believe that she was being locked in her tomb. Locked away, punished for the sin of love.

Watching as the darkness first started to touch the sky, she surrendered herself to sobs as trembling hands rose to cup the dying, bleeding heart caught in her ribcage.

Staring up in the spreading darkness, she could only wish for him, and wish for him to destroy it all.

--

The darkness was upon them all.

The crowd gathered on Mt Olympus could only watch as the shadows began to lengthen into shapes, as the world was covered by a thick layer of the unstoppable.

Somewhere down below, the fates were chanting as they slept.

Zeus's eyes remained trained on the horizon even as down below the world began to shake, even as down below mortal screams filled the air as the shadows wrecked their havoc. The undead paraded down the streets to reunite with loved ones in bittersweet reunions as others, torn apart and stripped of all morals in death's hands, ravaged and plundered until there were more like them.

And death himself…

He hovered above them all, the world and Mt Olympus, in the starless sky.

Waiting to fall on them all as gasps echoed throughout the lovely mountaintop as the creator of the darkness himself emerged to stand before his brother, face to face with the throne.

Somewhere, far off, thunder sounded.

Somewhere far off, winged feet approached a dark cave that echoed in silence, abandoned for now.

Somewhere far off, a flash of gold careened through underbrush, over mountains and streams, golden hooves rapping against the earth again and again as though beating it in a frantic journey.

Somewhere, far off, the world prepared to meet its apocalypse.

* * *

_If I do say so myself, this chapter is EPIC! Really, it was so intense to write, and in some parts I kind of just let my fingers start typing and stopped thinking! But here it is—the start of the end. _

_A lot is gonna go down in the next chapter, now that all the conflicts have been brought into light, so get ready for a wild ride! _

_Hm and I kind of got the idea of the dead roaming the streets from Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, now that I think about it, but I think that this would be creepier. After all, think of Dante's Inferno—those souls were by no means exactly happy with the world after where they were sent too!_

_Well, this is a long author's note, so I'll shut up now! Please feel free to review, and I thank you to all who have! You really make my day, really, and I will start responding to your reviews, I promise, if I ever get any sort of time and can figure out how to reply! Uh, would thank you be enough? ___

_Oh well, love you all anyways, even you who just read this and didn't leave a review! If it were up to me, none of you would get involved in this world ending thing going on! _


	18. Hidden Power

The Last Bite

Chapter 18: Hidden Power

Disclaimer: Despite the fact that this is straying far from the original myth, I do not own the gods and goddesses and the like, only the wayward plot.

A/N: Oh wow, has it really been so long since I updated?! I am so sorry everyone! I don't really have an excuse, other than the simple fact that life got in the way, as it tends to do. I've been so busy getting ready for college that my head is spinning and I really nearly almost forgot this story :(. But never fear because no matter what I will finish it, especially since I have gotten so far! Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews for my last chapter, and I hope that this one makes up for all the time it took for me to update!

--

Zeus wondered if he was even breathing at all. If he even needed to breathe. As he stared into the eyes of his enemy, into the eyes of his brother, he did not recognize him. He could not find the cold god he had always known in the twisted face, the dark, flaming. He couldn't, because never before had he seen Hades so…alive.

Always it had seemed to him as though his brother was as dead as the realm he ruled. He had always been so emotionless, he had always been so withdrawn, such a mystery, so…cold. He had always been everything that he wasn't now. It was stunning, amazing, and Zeus, although he did not show any of it, was taken aback. Who…was this raging god?

The fire in his eyes… Unbidden, the god of the sky felt a shiver run down his spine as he stood from his throne, standing as tall as he could only to realize that Hades was the same height as he was. He always had been.

"Hades…" his voice, usually as loud and echoing as the thunder, as jolting as the lightning, was unconventionally quiet. It was almost a whisper, in fact, as he stared into his brother's burning eyes. He could not find the strength to talk any louder. "Hades, what is all this…?"

He didn't even need to ask—they both knew he already understood. And yet the question still slipped out of him, waiting to be answered—a confirmation of what could very well be the end.

Above their heads, Death groaned.

Hades face was twisted into a sneer as he raised his arms, gesturing to the frightened faces of the goddesses, the nervous faces of the gods, and the destruction of the world below. Beneath their feet, the clouds were growing heavy and dark with storms of anger and pain.

"What does it look like, oh mighty Zeus?" he replied in a tone so bitter it was like a knife, aimed for Zeus's heart. "I'm teaching you a lesson."

Zeus stayed silent, watching his brother. Suddenly there seemed as though there was little he could do at all. Suddenly, the great god had lost his voice and with it, he felt like he had lost his power.

How could he deny something he knew in the pit of his heart he knew he deserved?

Ares—brash, strong, hot headed Ares—was the one who stepped up and decided to be the one to fight Hades. Zeus could only look on.

"What lesson?" the god of war sneered, "If any of us are deserving of a lesson, it is you Hades, lord of the dead! You have no power here, and you certainly have nothing to prove!"

But oh, how all of them knew then and there that that was a lie. How each god looked down, how each god turned around in their heads the sins they had all committed in their avarice, in their follies. How each god tried to turn a deaf ear to the screams of the mortals below. The very mortals they all were charged with protecting…

But no one said a thing, even as Hades threw back his head and laughed, deep and coldly. Even as he turned his wicked eyes to each and every one of them, screaming accusations with just his face, his presence. Under his sweeping gaze, even Ares, charged with slaughtering those he hated, looked down.

Shame joined Death in hovering above their heads. An anvil, just waiting to fall…

Zeus only knew that he had to keep it up, no matter what. "Hades, I know why you are here…" His voice was still quiet, cautious; his eyes weary as they stared into his brother's darkened ones. Just like that Hades stopped laughing and was glaring him down once again.

"Don't even pretend you can understand Zeus," the god of the dead spat his name and the sky rumbled ominously. "You can never understand what I've gone through throughout my existence thus far! You have no idea…"

Silence fell, broken only by the shallow breaths of Hades as everyone held their breath, waiting for the cracking moment. Ares, for once, held his tongue and stepped down. This was not his fight, but the fight between brothers, the fight between the dead and the living, the brother who had it all and the brother who had nothing. It was Zeus who needed to speak now, Zeus who needed to understand, and the god of the sky, the wielder of the lightning knew this. He just had no idea what to say.

"Hades…" he started, inhaling deeply, exhaling slowly as he scoured his heart, which he was beginning to realize he hardly knew anymore. Underneath all his power, his glory, did he still have a heart? "I…understand why you're angry, because I…I deserve it, after all I've done to you. I…can not deny it, nor do I really want to. I knew full well that I was leaving you out, but…you never said anything. You were always so quiet, so I assumed… And you would have gone on keeping silent, if you had not met…Persephone."

He watched as his brother winced at the name of his lost beloved, and those glaring eyes softened for just the briefest moment. It was enough incentive for Zeus to forge ahead.

"She gave you…feeling, didn't she? She made you realize how important you are, and how for so long we've denied you happiness. You loved her and…we took her from you. I took her from you. You…have every right to be angry at me, brother."

For just a moment, as he stared into the god of the underworld's face, he thought he saw a flicker of uncertainty. He thought he saw the man that he had known for so long beneath the white hot fury, and relaxed, thinking that perhaps there might not be a fight. That perhaps Hades would return down to his dark hole as he always did and sulk.

But what Zeus was forgetting was that Hades now really did have a reason to fight him. Solid proof, taking shape in the form of a young maiden with eyes like the sky and hair like fire that flitted in and out among the flower petals and blossoming trees.

Hades now had Persephone, and he was not about to let her go, not yet. "Stop trying to convince me that I am doing wrong Zeus," he hissed at the other god, clenching his fists so that dark fireballs converged there, waiting on the tips of his fingertips to be released. "Yes, I do have every right to be angry with you. And do you know what else? Admitting that you messed up will not change a thing, not now."

Zeus stared at him for a long moment. Every god and goddess holds their breath. They are half expecting him to yell back at Hades, to meet his brother's challenge. Zeus has never backed down, all pompous energy and power that all feared. The lord of the skies, frightening in his wrath…

So imagine everyone's surprise, even the god of the underworld's, when Zeus only looked at his brother with a deep sadness etched on his usually so jovial face. "I know I can't change a thing Hades. I know, and it only makes me hurt more knowing that."

Hades wanted to believe him; Zeus could tell by the pain that suddenly covered the other god's face that he wanted, oh he wanted, to believe his brother.

And he would have, he could have, if this had happened before Persephone. Everything always seemed to lead back to her, Zeus mused in his falling heart. She was the force of this rage, this destruction; she was the key to it all.

It was for her more than anything that Hades eyes started to grow black in rage, it was for her when his frame started to tremble, dark flames dancing around him in an eternal waltz as timeless as death. A futile battle, Zeus wanted to remind him. But was it really futile? Down below the cities burned. Down below children wept and parents cried out to their gods, the cause of it all, the start of it all.

And still they prayed. Still, above the horrified whispers of the gods, he could hear their whispered prayers, begging to him, to HIM, their leader, their almighty god, to save them.

What could he do but accept his brother's challenge? What could he do but call his lightning bolts, feel their power thrum in his hands. He wanted to weep, but he couldn't; not with every eye fixed on him, mortal and god alike. He wanted to break down for all he had never done, and all he had forgotten to do. He knew that he was selfish; and in the face of his brother from below, he knew that he was cruel too.

How many years, decades, centuries had it taken to get him this way? The lightening bolt jumped in his hand, a ticking time bomb. The flames around his brother were lifting higher as he raised his eyes to the dark sky, to death's sad face. What a burden to carry, so many lives. Maybe he understood death more than he thought.

No one would help him as the dark flames started to spiral towards him. No one, because this was his battle, his brother, his turn to control death. He raised his own arm, light piercing through the darkness as the lightning bolt crackled, split the sky.

Down below, mortals raised their eyes to the thunderous sky and let the rain be tears falling down their cheeks.

--

She was still standing there, staring through the cracks in the boards on her window, her head cocked to the side. Listening, always listening, to the screams of the winds outside, the harsh impact of thunder and lightning as the world was unleashed.

And she cried, slowly, silently, in grief and guilt.

Persephone was not naïve anymore; she knew very well that all of this, all the lost lives death was collecting, had been her fault. And in some moments, she nearly hated her beloved for that. How could he put her through this? How could he put her through this gut wrenching guilt?

Her tears dripped to the floor.

This is not what she wanted, not at all. If there were only some way for her to get to Mt Olympus…

But she had given up hope long ago. At least she knew that Hades could not die, and yet still…

There were fates worse than death.

She'd seen it firsthand, in the levels of his kingdom. The torturous screams, the blank eyes of the victims. She tried to imagine his eyes going that lifeless, nearly dead but not quite. She imagined his screams filling the air, saw his pale skin turn red with blood and sweat and tears.

She imagined it all, and had to bite down on her knuckles to keep in her scream.

They wouldn't do that to him, she tried desperately to reason as the tears fell faster. They couldn't, not after they knew that they had broken his heart by taking her from him, and sent him themselves on this path to destruction.

It was their faults, all their faults. But would they acknowledge that it was their faults? She thought back to all of Zeus's affairs, all his shrugs when the mortal girls he had bedded fell under Hera's wrath. She thought of all the mortals that died everyday from some indiscretion by a god, by some allure of a goddess, and felt her heart wilt in her chest.

And she knew, then and there, staring at the covered window, what she had feared—they would blame him, no matter what, because they always blamed him, the dark god, the one who never got the chance to see sunlight. They always blamed him, simply because they could not blame themselves. They were selfish, they were cold, they…

They were all just like her mother…

Her tears stopped, her spine straightened. No, she would no longer bow under her mother's tyranny. No, she would not let any harm come to her beloved.

"I caused this," she whispered, "Now it's time to finish it."

She had seen her mother do this once, when she had been so little, out in their garden. Her big blue eyes had stared in rapt attention as her mother had crossed her arms in front of her, her eyes slipping shut as she turned her face to the earth.

"_Now Persephone," _she had said, _"I have power that goes beyond just making plants grow. I can...control this earth."_

"_Control it…?"_

Demeter had smiled, her eyes still closed, as she turned her back on her daughter and suddenly spread her arms wide, seeming to hum with energy as she reached for the sky, er mouth had opened, and beneath her eyes lids her eyes glowed iridescent, burning through the thin skin, burning at the sky.

"_Watch my daughter," _her mother's voice had whispered to her, on the wind, _"Watch my daughter as I call the earth…"_

And before her eyes, Persephone had watched the earth bow to her mother, the soil rippling, the grass suddenly growing higher and higher around from a meadow into a sea of high weeds. Everything had been so alive; pulsating with her mother's every command, obeying her mother's every wish. She could remember her awe as she had watched her mother finally lower her arms, had watched as the nature that had been distorted returned to its original state, the grass shortening, the earth smoothing out as her mother's eyes opened to reveal satisfied blue eyes.

And then it had been like nothing had happened at all. The earth had continued to grow and die in its natural way and her mother had smiled and pulled her into a hug, just like she always had done before she had made the earth literally move. Persephone had wanted to ask her mother so many things then, but she had not found the words; she'd been too amazed. All that power and she had not known about it?

She had wanted to ask her mother, above everything else, if she had similar powers. She was the daughter of the earth; surely she could do something…?

Only now, years later, would she test that theory.

Her eyes slipped closed just as her mother's had those years ago—how long ago had it been?—and she wondered what it was she had to focus on. Maybe if she thought of what she wanted to control…

She thought of the grass. She thought of the trees and the flowers and the leaves and the butterflies; she thought of the meadows and each individual blade of glass as she ran her hands through it, as she walked through the meadow that had suddenly appeared in her mind.

And suddenly, she could feel everything. She could feel each rustle of the grass; she could feel each plant breathing in and out, in and out, the sweet air of the world, living off of it, and growing. She could see the grass just beyond her boarded up window, see it standing on end just hoping to grow. She breathed life into it. She was leaning over it, and her breath was like rain as it fell, and everything began to grow, bursting into life all around her, the vines around the house climbing slowly across the wall until it reached her window and snuck across the glass of it.

Focused now solely on the vines, she breathed deeply and in her mind imagined the vine shooting through to break the glass and penetrate the wood, she imagined the vines splitting the wood apart until there was nothing left, just an empty window.

When she opened her eyes, what she had imagined had become reality. Gaping at the world now visible outside her window, she allowed a satisfied smile to curve on her lips. How had she not known about her own power before?

But it was hardly the time to care about that now. The point was now that she had the power, and that she was free to leave this cottage behind.

The sky was rumbling ominously as she climbed through the window, wincing as she nearly cut her foot on a piece of glass. She stared up at the sky for a moment, eyes widening at how utterly black and empty it was, and in her heart she felt a pulse of foreboding. Things seemed worse than she imagined…

But then, had she ever really imagined the world like this?

It was too quiet as she began to turn in the direction of Mt Olympus, fully intent on running all the way there to stop this madness and hopefully save… Well, she would see who it was that she had to save.

As she started her dead sprint through the meadows, she did not notice the flicker of gold following her until it was in front of her, and with a gasp she came to a halt to stare startled at the graceful form of the doe Arbela.

"W-What…?" she whispered, and the golden doe snorted at her. "What are you doing here, girl? This is not the time—"

The doe snorted again and began to paw the earth as though trying to beckon Persephone. Her gentle eyes seemed to flicker with words.

_Come with me_, she seemed to say, and Persephone gasped as she could really hear a gentle voice in her head.

"I…I can't!" Persephone shook her head, "I have to get to Mt Olympus and see Hades—"

Arbela shook her small golden head, almost as though reprimanding her. Her gentle eyes were fierce as they bored into Persephone's blue ones.

_Come with me_, she insisted again. _There are things more important._

"No!" Persephone protested, "I need to help Hades! I need to stop this war before it gets any worse! Gods, don't you understand me?"

The doe pawed impatiently at the earth again, snorting and throwing her head back as though indignant. _I understand you perfectly, _she seemed to say, _but this is for the both of you. Zeus will not hurt Hades and you have to stop what is happening in the Underworld. _

Persephone froze, startled. "W-What? What's happening in the Underworld?" she demanded, and Arbela impatiently shook her head.

_No time. You must go to the cave entrance and descend into his realm. _

"But why?" Persephone demanded, "Tell me why! I thought that every being from the Underworld was up here fighting!"

_Yes, every being _from_ the Underworld. This being is from here. _

"A…trespasser?" Persephone blinked, "Why do you want me to stop a trespasser…?"

Arbela, if she could, seemed to roll her eyes before suddenly springing away, bounding off in the opposite direction of Mt Olympus to turn back and look imploringly at Persephone.

_Please child, just trust me. Hades is safe and if you ever want to have the hope of being with him, you will come with me. _

There was so much that Persephone did not understand. There was so much that made no sense. She thought of herself as crazy as she turned away from the great mountain to follow the blinding doe into the forest. She thought of it as irrational as she chased the golden doe through the thickets as above the sky rumbled and hissed and the cries of the dead filled the air.

The only thing that Persephone did know was that somewhere, in the pit of her stomach, in the depths of her heart, she knew that the urgency that Arbela was displaying was not fake, and this trespasser really did need to be stopped.

And if there was one thing Persephone knew by now, it was that she should always follow her heart.

--

About Persephone's power: I don't really know what made me give her powers, it's just that I am so sick of her being so sort of…helpless, you know? I want my Persephone to have some strength in her, and prove that she's just as powerful as everyone else. In the myth she and her mother don't really do much of anything other than frolic. And frolicking can only get you so far!

Feel free to review! And I love Arbela, I can just imagine her and she's so cute!


	19. Deception

The Last Bite

Chapter 19: Deception

Disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to the Greek myths that have dotted history with their riveting spells of intrigue.

A/N: I am SO sorry I havent updated in...how long now? I started college this fall and got a new job so it's been work, school, work, school, homework and I have gottne no free time. I've been writing this chapter over the months since my last update, and I can at least tell you it's the longest one yet! Anyway, sorry about the wait and I hope you enjoy it!

--

The cave was even darker than usual as she began the long, frightening journey down below, and if not for Arbela's golden light flickering just ahead of her Persephone was sure that she would not have been able to see a thing.

Nothing could be heard throughout the vast cavern except for her own breathing and near silent footsteps. Occasionally up ahead she would hear Arbela snort and hear in her head the doe's words of comfort.

_Just a little further Goddess_. _I can see flames up ahead._

Persephone was not going to deny how happy she was to hear that. The dark silence was unnerving to say the lease, and she was growing more and more anxious with each second that ticked by. A wasted second, she would think bitterly, despite herself. A second where she could be stopping the destruction from up above. A second where she could be with Hades.

Why had she followed Arbela again? The little doe hat mentioned something about an intruder in the Underworld but…what did that have to do with her? She wanted to ask Arbela again, but the silence seemed to be too thick to fight through with words. She was entangled in it now, and it was pulling her further and further into the dark depths.

It was not before long that Arbela's keen eyes showed the truth as Persephone stepped into the fiery domain, which was eerily silent with the wailings of the tortured souls absent. She felt her heart flip. Innocent souls currently poisoning the living…

"Is it bad?" she had to ask, she just had to. She did not even know who she was talking to as her voice split the air like lightning in the skies so high above. "Are the mortals…suffering?"

_Everyone suffers in war, which is what this has become. The mortals are the victims in this. They are suffering, yes, but what choice do they have but to take it? They do not understand; how could they? This is an affair beyond them._

There was no reassurance in the tone of the doe's voice, only a hard, rough edge of truth that dug like a blade into Persephone's heart. Of course they were suffering; how could she not have known? They were suffering because they always suffered; they were suffering because they were the parts of the gods that could die, could feel, could weep. For the thousandth time Persephone asked herself: what have I done? How had it come to this? How…had any of them let it come to this?

The mortals knew not to question the gods; the gods never bothered to question themselves at all. And why would they? She thought as they approached the place where Cerberus could have been outside the great dark castle. Why would they question themselves? What did they have to lose?

She wondered how many innocents Cerberus was devouring as she walked to the front gates of the familiar castle, Arbela waiting for her at the door, and felt her stomach turn. No, she could not think about that… But what then, in this empty realm, could she think of?

"Who is the intruder?" she asked the little golden doe yet again as she held open the door for her. "Tell me, please."

But as expected the doe said nothing at all, only continued walking past her and through the winding dark halls. Persephone for the first time thought of her golden glow as eerie instead of comforting as it shone over the black marble, illuminated the faces of the stone statues and portraits of those dead, their faces always twisted in dismay. There should never be light shined on the dead.

Gradually Persephone began to realize that the doe was leading her to the throne room, and she felt a chill go down her spine as she recalled what had happened last in this room. How she had felt in his arms… Why couldn't she just go back to that? Why couldn't time be less punishing and just listen to others for once?

But time was not even under the will of the gods.

The throne room appeared empty as she silently stepped into it, her eyes immediately drawn to Hade's empty throne. She felt a familiar empty pang in her heart at just the thought of him, of the missing part of her that seemed so very far away. Everything, not just his throne seemed so…empty without him there, the fires that constantly lit his realm dying into embers, the darkness heavy instead of light with mystery, with his essence. And suddenly she was overcome, almost illogically, with the desire to weep.

She was still staring with glazed eyes at the throne when she felt a soft muzzle brush her arm, and she looked down to see Arbela's concerned liquid eyes staring up at her. Sighing, she attempted to smile.

"I'm…fine. I just really want to be with him right now," she confessed, watching the doe press her muzzle reassuringly against her wrist. "It's just…memories. Memories that I wish could happen again…"

_They will, _she heard whispered back, _because you're going to make them so._

Blinking in confusion, Persephone stared at the deer and went to reply when, with the ferocity of one of Zeus's thunderbolts, a loud echoing sound pierced the air, followed by a muffled curse.

Immediately Persephone found herself on guard, her breath hitching as she felt an awful tide of nervousness and panic stir in her stomach. Breaking away from Arbela's soft gaze, she quickly looked around the area, trying to figure out where the noise had come from. There were two other doors in the throne room; one that she knew led to the bedrooms and another that she had never been through. She stared at that mysterious door now as her heart raced in her chest, the sound of footsteps barely to be heard over the erratic pulse of it.

"Who is that?" she whispered faintly, backing up in Arbela, "whose coming?"

The doe did not respond, simply stood there as though waiting. The footsteps drew closer. "Should—should I hide?"

_No Goddess, you are the only one who can stop him; stay in plain view and just wait, wait. Do not be frightened; you will see in a moment. _

What choice did Persephone have but to wait? Her heart was racing as the footsteps grew closer and closer and closer. She could not help but step back a step as the door began to open, the back of her legs hitting Arbela's warm flank as they watched anxiously for the door to open, for the person to step out.

_Here he is._

Persephone's jaw dropped in shock. "H-Hermes?!"

The messenger of the gods could only gape back at her, frozen in the doorway, eyes wide. "Persephone…?"

"Hermes!" she exclaimed, trying to shake off her shock. Her eyes started to narrow suspiciously as at her back Arbela snorted urgently. "What are you doing down here?"

Hermes had the sense to look momentarily abashed. "Well I…wanted to be sure that everyone was gone. And I thought that perhaps Hades would come back here…"

_Lies, _Persephone heard Arbela whisper in her mind. _He is lying to you. He is hiding something behind his back. _

And sure enough he was, his hands curving behind his back to shield her view of something. "Hermes, what do you have?" she asked, trying to sound innocent. Her suspicion grew to anxiety as he paled slightly.

"N-Nothing! Hey, what's Arbela doing down here?"

"She came down with me."

"Oh," he muttered, his gaze suddenly shifting to the little golden doe. There was an unmistakable gleam in his eye. "Would you mind if I…petted her?"

Persephone furrowed her brow slightly at the odd question. Arbela began to urgently paw at the floor.

"Why would you want to…?"

_Keep him away from me, _Arbela's voice urgently whispered to her. _He must not touch me…!_

Persephone did not even get the chance to ask why. At that moment Hermes, who had been steadily advancing, lunged forward, one hand reaching out for the golden creature—

"No!" Persephone gasped, moving to the side just in time to have him slam into her instead, moaning as they both fell to the floor in a mess of limbs and curses. Behind her Persephone could vaguely hear the sound of Arbela trotting away to the far side of the room as she pushed the cursing Hermes off of her, standing up to glower down at him.

"And what did you think you were doing?" she demanded, crossing her arms as she looked up at her with wide eyed, obviously caught. "Well?"

Hermes slowly stood, his expression that of slight panic as he discreetly looked around him. "I just wanted to pet her…"

"By lunging at her?" Persephone exclaimed, "And…what are you even doing down here? What are you…looking for?"

Hermes immediately paled, his eyes scanning the floor more frantically then ever now as he refused to meet her gaze. Inside of chest Persephone's heart skipped a shuddering beat. She did not like this…

_He is looking for it! _Arbela hissed in her head, _you have to find it before he does! _

Find what exactly?

She looked around the floor in the same manner Hermes was, and saw absolutely nothing, leaving her perplexed.

What in the name of all things Zeus—

She went to step closer to Hermes to gain his attention when she felt it; something solid connect with her foot. Startled, Persephone jumped only slightly as she looked down, seeing only air. She moved her foot again, watching and feeling as it met an invisible resistance. Puzzled she leaned down to tentatively touch the invisible object, and under the gentle caress of her fingers as they trailed across a smooth, hard surface, the air shimmered away to reveal empty space no longer—Persephone now found herself touching an elaborate helmet.

Gasping she drew back sharply to stare down at the unexpected piece of armor, bending down again to touch it delicately again, just to see if it really was there and not just an illusion. It was ice cold beneath her fingertips.

"A helmet…?" she marveled absently as she picked it up, not seeing Hermes' panicked expression as she turned it over in her hands, admiring it softly. It was not that elaborate, with a few rubies that looked in the dim light like spots of blood engraved in the thick, oddly light silver of it. For a helmet it was uncommonly light in her hands, almost feeling like condensed air as she turned it over and over, trying to find some secret to it in all its simple elegance.

"Ah, that was what I was looking for!" Hermes exclaimed, taking a step toward her. "Thank you for finding it Persephone, so I'll just…be on my way…"

He reached out to it as she jerked it away, suspicion hard in her eyes as she met his wild, almost desperate looking ones. One look at him, and she knew that he was hiding something from her. "Why do you need this helmet?" she asked him, stubbornly. "I shall not give it to you until you answer me."

Hermes took a slight step back at her, startled by her demeanor as he met her suspicion beseechingly. "But my dearest friend," he tried, "don't you trust me?"

Her eyes narrowed on him, no longer the color of the sky but a shade darker, the color of a storm about to hit. "After you lock me away and defy my love? After you insult him, hate him for no good reason?" she said coldly. "I'm not even sure if you are my friend anymore."

She can tell that her words have hurt him by how pale he grows, by the sadness that swells in his eyes. And she would have cared had not grown; she would have grown if she had not seen how loyal Hermes could really be. She did not hate him—he was, after all, still her oldest friend, but she could not delude herself into thinking that he was not a threat to her love anymore, could not make herself believe that he was not unselfish. She could not make herself believe that he had, if ever, her best interests at heart.

She will not apologize to him, and he will not back down. She has always been stubborn and he has always been persistent—two traits which, in the Underworld, clashed without hesitation.

"You know that I only want what's best for you Persephone; I've always wanted that."

She can not help but scowl at him, trying to find where the lie began in his entirely too sincere tone. "Have you really? Well Hermes, if you truly wanted what was best for me then why did you take me from him? You know that I love him."

"I don't think you quite understand love Persephone," Hermes told her, his tone deceptively gentle as though he were talking to a child. Her eyes narrowed to slits as her fingers curled tighter around the helmet in her hands.

"Oh I understand it much more than you ever will Hermes," she icily responds. "I don't think that there is anyone who can love you."

Her words were hard, unfaltering, pieces of ice that rained down on his heart and pierced it, again and again. A part of her, as he looked away as though slapped, almost wanted to apologize, especially at the sight of the sorrow overflowing, for one brief instant, in his irises. But before she could say anything, before she could conjure up any words to dissolve the suddenly tangible silence between them, he recovered. He looked back at her with a soft smile on his face, his eyes deceptively tranquil as they meet hers, almost dancing with silent laughter, with a joke that only he understood. She does not know entirely what to make of it.

"I intend to change that," he told her quietly, still smiling, eyes still twinkling in that strange way. It made her feel distinctly uneasy. "I'll make things right between us again Persephone; and I'll leave you alone once you give me that helmet."

She leveled him with what she hoped was an intense look, her lips pulling down into a deeper frown. In her hands the helmet was so light she could barely tell if she was holding it anymore. "What do you want with this helmet?" So they were back to the beginning again. Hermes began to look annoyed, his brows scrunching together as he looked at her.

"It's something of mine," he said, "Hades took it and I want it back.

Behind her, where golden light emits, there was a single snort. Persephone took a large step away from Hermes, her eyes shining in the dark room. "Liar!" she accused, "This does not belong to you!"

Hermes face was beginning to harden. "And I suppose that golden doe told you that?" he scowled, shooting a disdainful look at the animal. Arbela only snorted again, this time almost angrily, in response.

"Yes, she did," Persephone rigidly replied, straightening her spine as her old friend turned mocking eyes on her.

"Really Persephone? You decide to believe a golden doe over me?" Hermes demanded, "She's just an animal, and how do you know that she is not working for Hades?"

"I don't," Persephone answered without missing a beat, and went on before Hermes had the chance to smile triumphantly. "But I don't care either. I'm assuming that she's Artemis' but she could be from Hades. And if she is, I only appreciate her more."

She felt a sense of vindication as Hermes' jaw clenched in anger, and barely repressed a smirk. She should have known that the only way to set off the messenger god's true feelings would be to mention her love.

"That is completely wrong," he shook his head, his eyes hardening. "I can't believe that you can actually talk about him without an ounce of disgust! Persephone please, find reason!"

"I already have reason," She glared back, "And if I have truly lost it in love, is it really such a loss? Love will always exceed reason, as it should! I only wish that you could understand that, Hermes."

Was it pity that was trying to make her glare lessen on him? Was it pity that made it suddenly hurt to look into his angry eyes, so full of confusion? He didn't understand her love; did he understand love at all? Hermes had only ever loved who he had deemed it appropriate to love; he had only ever done as he was bade to do because it always seemed right, always seemed to just flow with the earth they were presiding over. Fate had blinded him to all things unordinary, to all things extraordinary; fate had filled him with the thoughts of every god, every being that he had ever encountered including, she thought with a start, herself and had influenced him, deluded him, with a thousand little prejudices, thoughts, feelings, understandings. He hated Hades because he was in darkness; darkness had always equaled malevolence on Mt Olympus. He loved Persephone because it only seemed right; she was his oldest friend, and Demeter would love to see them together. Persephone seemed perfect to him just because he knew no other; Persephone was to be his bride because she was all there was for him—his only option.

And as Persephone looked upon him now, into those eyes brimming with anger, into a face that could not ever understand, she was struck by his naivety. It was the same degree in which she had once been immersed herself, long before she had fallen into darkness, fallen unwilling outside of her norm, and everything had become free to her.

We were living in a cage, she thought, and her eyes softened. We are living in a cage that Hades, right now, was trying to break. But how, exactly, breakable was naivety? How could it be breached while some, fragments that would be innocence in a jaded world, remained?

She had once been brimming with true innocence; had the dark caverns stolen that from her? She could still feel her heart, beating steadily in her bosom, and she was reassured.

_True innocence, _Arbela's voice was a vine in her mind, uncurling in the light, _is whatever you make it to be._

And Persephone, stirred with a radiance that even the dark could not be diminish, that even in her lover's dark night would not flicker, looked into the face of her oldest friend with a small smile on her face, and allowed the pity to wash over her, soothing tides that had Hermes lessening his glare, had him stumbling back to confusion.

She was staring at him softly, sadly, and it was so lovely that it nearly hurt him. It did hurt him, in a place where he could not feel—in a place buried by things he was not yet aware of.

"Oh Hermes," she sighed, so gently. It nearly made him hope. "Why are you really down here? You've come to try to win my hand in marriage, haven't you?" There was nothing reprimanding in her tone, no bitterness as it should have been. It was just a statement of fact, and it left Hermes shaken in confusion as he did not know how to reply. Anger he had expected, an icy resilience to his words, but this? Persephone, looking upon him with eyes of the soft sky, smiling at him? He did not see the pity in her smile because he simply could not see it with his eyes. Poor naïve Hermes.

"Hermes, why do you even want to marry me? Give me a reason."

He did not hesitate. "Because, Persephone, we were clearly meant to be! I mean we've been friends throughout decades, centuries, and we have fun together and…you're the only girl for me."

Persephone did not miss that he had called her a girl instead of a woman. "You see me as someone else," she softly whispered to him, and her smile, so gentle, so pitying, did not falter. He stared at her. "You see me not as I am now, but as the young girl you used to visit to play with in the fields."

"Well, yes," he slowly replied, "But aren't you the same person? It does not matter who you are now, you were still that young girl Persephone."

She sighed almost wistfully, a hint of darkness creeping into the edge of her soft irises as she replied. "Yes, I was that young girl Hermes, but the times have changed, I have changed. I'm not that young girl anymore—I am not the person you fell in love with."

Hermes only looked at her, almost in amusement; the pity inside of her grew, rising with a sense of frustration she would not yet let him see. There was still time to persuade him, somehow.

"Persephone what are you talking about?" His eyes flashed briefly in anger, and his jaw set in a resolute line she immediately did not like. "Or has Hades messed you up this much?" he growled angrily, "He's been screwing with your mind!"

Persephone willed herself not to get angry as her smile faded, and she was left to just stare at him with the remnants of weariness. How could, after all this time, he still believe that? Easily, her heart told her; he believed it easily, because there was nothing possible left for him to believe in.

"Hades has done nothing but love me," she told him calmly, forging ahead even as Hermes started to shake his head in rebuttal. "He has only ever been kind to me, and he has…his love for me has made me change. His love for me has made me move on from being a young girl to a young woman, and I…I love him all the more for that."

"No," Hermes shook his head still, always twisting his face away from the truth that shone in all its vibrant life, even in the place of death, before him. "Persephone, you don't know what your saying. You can't know. Please, come back home to where you belong; come back to _me _Persephone."

Persephone's eyes were vast pools as she looked at him, into his face that was edged, rugged, with the burden of a plea. Hermes would always hold some portion of her heart, but that portion she knew, could just never be strong enough. "I really can't Hermes," she said to him simply, offering all she had left to offer. "I belong here, with him, without the sun. And although I'll admit that yes, I'll miss the sunlight and the meadows, I believe that his love for me—our love for each other—will make up for it. I'm sorry if you can't see that and since you can't, I suggest you just leave now."

For a moment she thought, as Hermes opened his mouth with a dark look on his usually sunny face, that he would protest. It was to her relief however when at the last minute he shut his mouth and the look began to disperse, replaced by a curiously calm expression that, despite herself, set her on edge. Somewhere in her heart, she knew not to trust that look.

"I plan on leaving you alone Persephone," he said much too casually, "And I'll even leave now so long as you grant me my one request—I want that helmet."

They were back to the helmet again, the mysterious invisible helmet—

With a start she realized it, her widened eyes flickering back down to the helmet. "Hades helmet of invisibility…" she breathed, holding it suddenly that much more delicately as she turned large accusing eyes up to Hermes. Behind her, Arbela was restlessly pawing at the hard silver floor.

"You came here to steal this," she accused, all pity and calm lost as her features twisted into a scowl. She had not wanted to see before because it hurt, it hurt to look at him and know that he had planned to steal this, her love's most prized possession. And for what?

"Artemis's challenge…" she slowly acknowledged, and her eyes were dark when the met his startled ones. "You were going to steal this and Arbela because that's what it takes it be my husband, weren't you?"

He did not bother answering her when the truth lay so clearly between them in the light weight of the helmet, in the quiet snorts of Arbela. In the guilt that flashed just once through his eyes.

"How dare you!" she hissed, surprised briefly by the malevolence she heard in her own voice; A voice which she had never heard before. "You know that I love him Hermes, you know that I'm happy with him! Why are you trying to take that away from me?"

Hermes could not find a single thing tor respond with, not when he knew himself that indeed all she was saying rang with the truth. He was selfish, as selfish as all the other gods on Mt Olympus had always been in their activities, their immortal so-called flawless lives. And as he stood before Persephone, looking into her large, hurt eyes, he was almost ashamed to feel the absence of guilt inside of him that only the immortals could have.

"Over time maybe you can find your happiness with me," he told her at length, and stood motionless as her face scrunched up in a look of loathing he tried to look past.

It was so easy too—all he had to imagine was a young girl's sweet smile on the face of this scowling woman. Oh, the ignorant fantasies of the gods. They thought things would always be better until the world was burning up around them and there was no possibility of 'better'.

Arbela, forgotten in the corner, lowered her head to the ground in defeat. She could sense the resolve filling the messenger god, and she knew that it was too late. She did not bother to tell Persephone so; she could tell that the goddess of the spring already knew that too well as she looked upon her old friend with unrestrained pain and anger.

"You don't know that," she tried one last time, at least, trying not to look obvious as she held the helmet closer to her chest. She was not naïve; she knew that Hermes had enough strength to not only rip the light helmet from her hands but also, on his winged feet, carry away the silent golden doe behind her. And by the time she managed to emerge from the Underworld she knew that it would be too late; Hermes would already be taking the helmet and the doe to Artemis, despite the war in the clouds, and declaring himself her husband.

She could see the hopelessness of the situation, and she knew her only hope would be to stall. Maybe Hades would somehow know she was in trouble in come help her? Somehow though, she knew that even amongst gods such powers did not exist.

She doubted the power of love; as Hermes took a step towards her, his eyes dark, that power would be put to the test.

"I'll make you happy Persephone, happier than _he_ ever could, I swear it. You might not believe me now, but you will once we are married, and you are in the sun again. I will help you forget this nightmare."

Swiftly he reached out to her, hand curling towards the helmet she held so protectively to her bosom, and the young goddess had only a moment to gather herself and dodge to the side, scrambling away from the god on weak legs, her eyes wide and dark with the challenge, with the fear.

"You'll never get the helmet from me willingly Hermes," she hissed just as he flew on his winged feet to strike at her again, his arm just narrowly missing hitting her face as she stepped quickly to the side, breathless, her heart racing under her breastbone.

Hermes face was set in a determination she feared she could not match as she stumbled back on shaky legs, all the while him following her, reaching out without hesitation for the invaluable object clutched so tightly in her hands. She was clutching it so tightly in fact, that she was surprised that her fingers had not left a dent in the lightweight bronze.

It was not long before she found herself cornered. She should have paid more attention, but she knew deep down that the result would have been the same. Pressing back into the dark stone, she heard Arbela's frantic hoofs slamming into the ground as the little golden doe tried to think of any way at all to help her. But it was all for naught. Backed into the corner, Persephone could only stare into the face of the god who had once been her best friend, her childhood crush, and try one more time.

"Please don't do this Hermes." Her eyes were not hard anymore with anger but softened in fear, in worry, in anxiety. The pleading of her voice was a sharp contrast to the anger that had roughened her sweet tone before, and it momentarily seemed to startle him. Just a moment was all she needed.

Moving with a speed borne from countless romps through the meadows and fields, Persephone managed to dart past the startled messenger god and started to run, her footsteps echoing heavily on the cold ground. She was almost at the door to the throne room, her heart in her throat, when she was abruptly grabbed from behind. Shrieking, Persephone struggled valiantly in her captor's arms, getting some satisfaction when she heard Hermes hiss as she dealt a rough kick to his shin.

"Let me go you horrid man!"

Hermes laughed lowly in her ear as he reached around with one hand, placing it on top of his prize, the helmet of invisibility, pressed so tightly to her chest now that it hurt. "Man? Trust me Persephone, I am no _man_…"

"Gods no!" she only managed to cry, one last time weakly before the helmet was snatched out of her hands she was released, her body crumpling to the floor in defeat as she turned stormy blue eyes up to the now smirking Hermes. He was holding the helmet in his hand casually, as though he had always had it in his possession. It made her want to hit him until she saw the blood the gods could not shed falling from him.

"You cheated," she snapped, rather pitifully. "You used your winged shoes to catch me!"

He just shook his head, his lips pulling down into a sad frown as he sighed heavily. "Oh Persephone, I only wish you could see the good in all I am doing."

"Good?" she spat, a bitter laugh that could only belong to the queen of the underworld, erupting from her snarling lips. "How is taking away true love good Hermes?"

He looked at her, still so incredulous. "True love? Persephone please, you can not call what you have true in anyway—"

"I love him!" She would not be swayed, she would not. Her frustration made the ground beneath them tremble in quiet waves as she stood, her eyes nearly glowing dangerously as she glared at him, her old friend, her new enemy. "You can't take me from him," she whispered fiercely, "I refuse to go alone with you, let alone marry you; I hate you."

Hermes shook his head, reaching for her. "Now Persephone I hardly think that you—"

"Don't touch me!" she hissed, jumping away from his touch as though it burned her, moving backward until she ran into Hade's dark throne. Feeling the cold marble of its arms beneath her fingertips, Persephone felt a pang go through her heart as she thought of her beloved, so oblivious to her plight when she was so close to being taken from him forever. Would this be the last time she was in the Underworld?

She no longer feared the darkness that swirled like a fragrance in the room, but instead embraced it; the darkness could hide things yes, but it was also a place where anyone could be anyone—there could be just Hade's and his Persephone.

She'd make damn sure of that.

"Persephone," Hermes was saying, his voice tinged with the edge of a threat. "It doesn't really matter if you come with me or not, at this point. I have the helmet and…"

Before Persephone could react, Hermes had procured a rope and had it wound around the doe's muzzle and neck, trapping her and binding her. "Let her go!" Persephone cried, moving forward as Hermes moved back, rope tighter as he pulled her along, and she began to cry in a hauntingly light voice, its echo filling up the dark underground like the sound of an angel falling.

"_My spring goddess you must stop him!" _Arbela's sweet voice was filled with panic in Persephone's head, and Persephone's face mirrored it. "But what do I do?" she cried aloud desperately as Hermes gave her one last sad smile as he backed up to the doors, preparing to leave.

Persephone knew that she could not stop him now, even if she tried; he was stronger than her and, with his winged shoes, faster than her. But yet…

Persephone met the bright eyes of Arbela and exhaled heavily, her panicked features slowly morphing into a look of utter tranquility and softness. The change was so unexpected that Hermes stopped, narrowing his eyes slightly on her as she met his gaze with softened eyes.

"Hermes," she began in a tone that held a slight tremble. "Hermes my beloved I'm sorry I said all the things I did before I…could never hate you. I must have been under some kind of enchantment."

She made sure her eyes stayed large and scared as Hermes, completely startled, took a step towards her. "Persephone?" he breathed, "Are you…telling the truth?"

"The complete truth." Arbela had stopped struggling against her bindings and was still, her head downcast, the rope dragging on the floor. "I want to be with you now Hermes and I'll come with you without a struggle."

It was so easy—too easy—to make him believe that she was honest when it was all he already yearned for. Gods had never been able to resist their desires, even when there was a blatant lie barring them from it. Gods had never realized just how false their worlds are, and just how false they themselves were within it.

How easy it was, for one to fall prey to the heart…

Hermes gathered her in his arms as though she were made of glass, and did not notice the way she flinched away from him, the way she leaned around him to look into Arbela's eyes. Now free, the golden doe looked back at Persephone with knowing eyes.

_I will go get you help, my goddess, I swear it. By the time you leave this cave, you will no longer have to be with the messenger god. _

Persephone wanted to ask the creature how that would be possible, but the doe was already turning away, and in silent steps trotted to the door to the throne room and dissolved right through it. Hermes, so enraptured by his beloved, did not even notice the godly creature leave.

_Just trust me, dear Persephone, and remember all that happened the last time you were here. Just remember the last time…_

The last time? What did that mean? As Hermes began to stroke her hair she thought back desperately. What had she done? She had been afraid, so afraid, and so hungry—

Hungry…

The forbidden fruit—Persephone could still remember how it had tasted in her mouth, how juicy and red and alive, even though it was from the world of the dead, even though it was from the lord of the underworld himself—

She had never tasted a pomegranate so sweet…

The answer came to her then, as she stood still in the arms of the god she was beginning to hate. If she had taken a bite of that pomegranate before the light of day… If she had…

"Hermes," she pulled away from him as slowly as she was able, making sure her eyes were large, innocent—the opposite of what she was becoming. "I am ready to go up to the Earth with you but…I need to collect some things from this realm first. I swear to you on all the powers I possess that I shall return to you, just give me a moment." At his doubtful look she reached up to press her lips to his cheek, inwardly smirking at the way his expression collapsed into that of delight. Was manipulation really such an easy thing?

"Why can't I come with you?" he asked her as she moved away from him, "Surely I can--?"

"Please Hermes," she beseeched, her face so painfully earnest that it almost broke his heart. "Please allow me a moment to myself to say goodbye to the life I could have had before joining you. Please."

How could he say no? Susceptible as any mortal man to the wiles of the woman, Hermes could only nod and smile, believing in her, trusting her, even as she led him to the flames. "Alright my dearest, I shall wait here for your return. But, take heed—if you are not back within ten minutes I will come searching for you."

Persephone threw him one last bright smile that she knew would make his heart flutter before quickly exiting the throne room and leaving his sight.

Once out the door, she made a straight path to her only destination—the dining room.

--

Alright, so no Hades or Zeus in this chapter, they'll be in the next one, I promise. I want Persephone to have a little bit of power over her own fate, and so this chapter sort of...shows that? I dunno, what do you think? I'd love to hear from you--maybe it'll make me try to find time for the next chapter! Thanks for reading!


	20. A Bite of Resolution

_The Last Bite_

_A Bite of Resolution_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Greek myths_

_A/N: It's been two years. I'm really sorry for all the fans of this story that went without it for so long; I know the agony of that myself. Truthfully I forgot about this story until I re-read my book on mythology, dusty now, and I thought…huh, I have to finish that, don't I? Well guess what? I am. Thanks a million to every single one of you beautiful souls who reviewed, who cheered this story on throughout the years. Two years later, and only one chapter left. Enjoy!_

The sun was just starting to set as they began their ascent away from Hade's kingdom. It was silent as they waded through the growing darkness, darkness that should have, for all it was, been disturbing, disconcerting. But not to Persephone.

She barely bit back her snickers at the way Hermes seemed to start to hunch into himself as the darkness bloomed like a rare flower. Of course he would be weary of the darkness—it was only natural for one like him. One who basked in the sunlight, absorbed all the warmth of it with a gluttony only a god of Mt Olympus could possess. The light was supposed to be there to illuminate every little detail, every little flaw and beauty a person could possess. It was a fact to Persephone now that the light was a lie.

The light made everything clear, but never sharp; it never made anything into what it really was. In the light the gods acted only as they thought they should act, as they knew the others were watching, the mortals were praying. In the light, every god knew how to lie, to smile; every god knew how to deceive. But in the dark?

In the dark the truth lurked, always there, not cast aside by frivolous smiles that fall on unseen eyes and words spun sweetly into the sourest lie. The darkness took everything away, all the senses, all the hope, and in its depths stripped a person bare, mercilessly. The truth, the truth, always the truth. It followed them even now as they began their ascent, hounding them and exposing in its manipulative way. Hermes gentle smile could not affect her here; she could hear the caution as his voice as he reassured her, could feel his anxiety even as he tried to be excited about the plans he had already for their wedding.

But the dark hid one thing, perhaps the most important element of all—in her hand, the pomegranate was growing warmer and warmer. One bite, she knew, was all it would take.

Aphrodite and Athena were standing at the turrets of Mt Olympus, overseeing the battle between Zeus and Hades in silence when they heard the sound of hooves echoing off the hollow glass floors.

"That would be Arbela," Athena commented idly, "Back from the Underworld to bring us news…"

"Good news, I should hope," Aphrodite sniffed, watching as Hades dodged another of Zeus' thunderbolts. "We could all use good news right now."

The sinewy form of Arbela appeared at their sides, her dark intense eyes flickering between them to the battle still waging down below them.

_So the fighting has begun?_

"Unfortunately yes," Athena replied to the voiceless comment, casting a glance down at her golden animal friend. "Interference in such matters would not be prudent."

"I still don't see why not," Aphrodite scoffed, "Hades deserves to be taught a lesson and Zeus is our father—"

"He is our father, but he is not always right," Athena easily replied. "Do not forget, sister, even gods' make mistakes."

"Hm, not I," Aphrodite bit out imperiously, "And watching all these dead souls mill around is making me feel hideous. Their pallor is revolting."

"Well yes Aphrodite," Athena sighed, rolling her eyes, "They are dead you know. And this is not the issue right now!" Turning to Arbela, her wise grey eyes pierced into the doe anxiously. "What news of Persephone, deer?"

_Hermes is with her, and he has the helmet of invisibility in his grasp. I believe that he was secretly helped by Demeter. _

"Well of course he was!" Aphrodite exclaimed, "That god couldn't have done so much on his own—"

"Don't underestimate Hermes, sister. He does have cunning in him. Arbela, where are they at now?"

_In the underworld, but by now I am sure that they are on their way out. He plans on returning to Demeter's house and marrying her, I'm sure. _

"Such a thing is not possible," Aphrodite commented, "To win her hand he needed the invisibility helmet _and _you. You are here, and thus such a union cannot be sanctioned."

Arbela snorted. _I can tell you that such trivial details do not matter to him anymore._

"Arbela is correct, Hermes no longer possesses the patience to wait, not when Hades is distracted and everything is falling apart like it is," Athena sighed, "I should not reject Hermes advances to her, I really shouldn't and yet…"

"There is no love between them that is true," Aphrodite spoke quietly. Athena threw her a startled look, and Aphrodite flipped her golden head with a sneer. "What? I am the goddess of love after all; it's my job to know such things! Hermes has a mere obsession with her as she is the only woman he can imagine himself with. He is young and ignorant and afraid of the future. You know why Athena."

"He doesn't want to end up like his father," the wise goddess whispered into the rushing breeze. Athena trained her eyes on said father, noticing vaguely that the battle was going nowhere, both Hades and Zeus painfully matched and at a stalemate. "And who can blame him?"

"Precisely my point. Hermes just needs to find someone else, whether she is another goddess or even a mortal," Aphrodite stated, "So long as he stops chasing Persephone and allows her to be with Hades. Even if that god does give me the creeps…"

_He is a good man; a great god, _Arbela commented agilely. _He and Persephone have been fated to meet for a reason, and they are already in love. _

"Well I already said that!" Aphrodite huffed, shooting an annoyed look to the little golden doe. "Haven't you been listening?"

Athena had to bite her lip to keep from smiling when it looked like Arbela was rolling her large brown eyes. "The point is, friends, how do we stop this? Hermes is about to bring her up to the surface and with Hades distracted—"

_We must get him to turn his attentions away from his revenge on Lord Zeus. His bitter rivalry will destroy his love and very soon. Hermes, once he is on the surface with her, will take her to Demeter, and we all know that she will sanction a union between them._

"Then we don't have much time," Athena said, "We must think of—"

"She can't sanction a marriage without my consent!" Aphrodite interrupted, looking peeved. "I am the goddess of love—"

"I know that, sister, and Demeter certainly knows that too but she is beyond caring. She will stop at nothing to ensure that she does not lose her daughter to the underworld—"

"She can always have another child!" Aphrodite interrupted, "I mean I get that she loves Persephone but she needs to learn to just let her go. She can't stay a perfect porcelain girl forever."

"Try telling her that," Athena sighed. "We have to get Hades to abandon his fight with Zeus; it is the only way that he and Persephone can continue their love."

_Should we just go down there and tell him? _Arbela asked, _Interrupt the fight and—_

"Why should he believe us?" Aphrodite scoffed, "We're the children of his sworn enemy; he'll more than likely try to cut us down before he gives us a chance to speak!"

"You are right Aphrodite," Athena replied. As the goddess of wisdom, of course her mind was busy already figuring out a plan. "We will have to trick him; it is the only hope we can have. Let him know that Persephone is in danger…"

_How can we accomplish such a thing? Persephone is not with us…_

"But we can always pretend that she is," Athena quickly said, "We can make it seem like she is in trouble…"

"I think I know exactly what you're thinking of, sister," Aphrodite grinned, pushing her hair back from her face. "One little scream from her and Hades will be forced to chose what is most important to him!"

_But who can imitate Persephone's scream that well…?_

Aphrodite's answer was to simply throw her golden head back and scream towards the rumbling sky.

Hades found himself caught between two conflicts of interest. In the end what was more important—love or revenge? There was passion in both; a hard, harsh passion that could make gods fall and even the tides of Poseidon change. It all came down to what mattered more.

Here he was, standing in front of the throne of Mt Olympus, everything he had ever wanted since this mass called earth had been formed, and there was a bitter taste in his mouth. Like a rotten pomegranate his senses were screaming at him, and his heart that should have been soaring in joy only seemed to be palpitating in fear.

Her scream, one brief sound, echoed through his head louder than any clap of lightning and thunder Zeus had hurled at him. It struck him right in the heart, killing a part of him that he had not realized had even been there in the first place before it lay dying, so lovely in its final breaths.

Happiness…

And he knew then that nothing, no victories, no prayers, no kingdoms and powers, could ever make up for a world without Persephone, his lovely stolen Persephone, at his side. And just like that, all inclinations to mangle his brother's face and tear apart all he thought was good were gone.

Perhaps sensing his brother's hesitation, Zeus slowly started to lower the lightning bolt he had been about to hurl, his shrewd eyes taking in Hade's heaving chest and the conflict clearly visible on his face dark through the sheets of rain.

"You do not wish to do this anymore," Zeus dared to state, watching those crimson eyes flash to him. For a moment Hade's scowled darkly, a retort on the tip of his tongue that he barely resisted in biting back.

It wasn't as though he didn't want to do it but… Now there were more important things in the shape of the young women he had been waiting centuries for. Then again, he had been waiting just as long to see his arrogant brother get degraded, as he had been for too long now. His heart or his pride?

It was a conflict no man, or god, ever wished to see themselves in, and yet…

"If you stop this now Hades," Zeus spoke quietly, voice barely audible above the drenching rain. "If you stop this now brother I will not think ill of you—"

Hades could not help but snarl at that, eyes that had started to cool bursting vividly with crimson flames once more. "Think ill of me? Zeus that is all you have ever done! I can't believe that, by the graces I refuse to believe that now!"

For the first time in his life, Zeus looked at his younger brother, drenched in rain and defeat, as if he were not the lord of the underworld, as though he had not always been his rival and his greatest threat and had always been just his brother. Without titles, without powers and without kingdoms, Zeus knew that things would have been different between them, between everyone and for the briefest of moments, as lightening forked the air directly above him, he regretted his powers.

With a wave of his hand the storm receded, the rain seeming to recede back into the clouds they had fallen from. The clouds, dark and heavy and just waiting to reopen, rumbled above them both as Zeus met his brother's surprised eyes.

"Zeus what—"

"You think I don't understand you, brother, but I do. I understand how you feel perfectly. You think that everyone looks down on you because of who you are and the things that you are destined to handle, and maybe that is true. But what you need to know is that despite the grudges held against you, you were trusted with perhaps the safest powers and realm of all." Zeus' smile was bitter as he turned his eyes from Hades to look through the clouds down to the earth, where the dead were still chasing the living, who were throwing their arms up to the sky. His name was cried over and over and over again for mercy, in anguish, from their lips.

"The dead already know their fates, Hades, and there is nothing that they can say to you to change them. But the living… You should hear them when they try to barter for their lives. When they curse at me for their misfortunes, how easily they turn on me when something happens, something catastrophic like this. The Underworld doesn't change but the Earth…each day is a survival that I must see through, and each day it's almost like I lose something more to the greedy hands of them all, the mortals and their petty troubles…"

Zeus trailed off slowly; his eyes still averted as he watched those he was in charge of flee from something he could not control. Watched them flee from death himself and curse him and plead to him and surrender themselves to his judgment. But then, it never had been his decision at all.

The absolute power that Hades thought he possessed had never even been there in the first place and, as the two brothers looked down into the destructions their ways had caused, everything seemed to stop.

Hades lowered his hands slowly, a grim smile tugging at the edges of his lips as he faced the man, the god, who seemed more like a mortal now as he looked at him with such sad, cracked blue eyes. And he thought that maybe, there wasn't that much of a difference between them at all.

"It is not weakness to surrender to love," Zeus whispered, even as Hades started to vanish, back to his domain where death and love were side by side. "It is all a mortal and a god can ever wish for in life. For the love of their people…"Around him the sky was starting to break up, the dead vanishing with their leader even as the mortals cursed Zeus, always Zeus, for their misfortune.

Curse him until the dying come back from their graves and wreck more havoc on the already decaying world. The fighting has gone, and yet on the very top of Mt Olympus, Lord Zeus was well aware that his own fight would never end.

Zeus let his rain fall again with a bitter little smile on his face, seen only in the flashes of the lightening.

_Was there any difference between the cries of the living and the dead?_

When they emerged from the cave, Hermes immediately tried to reach for her hand. Unfortunately for him, Persephone was one step ahead of him, backing away from him on nimble feet towards the forest. She knew that she could not just outright bolt from him; with his winged shoes and the helmet of invisibility, he had an automatic advantage over her.

Running back into the Underworld was also something she had to rule out, as she knew he would catch her and willingly fall back into the darkness just to get her. Years ago, that thought might have made her feel so happy; now it only made her feel despair. Cornered by him and his rabid obsessions, she clutched the pomegranate behind her back as she raised her chin up at him, showing the defiance she still could not help but feel even in her situation.

"Hermes, I will ask you one last time to let me go. I love Hades and I can't, and will never, love you like I love him. Please, you must understand this before you stir his wrath and force us both into eternal misery in our marriage!"

"Oh Persephone," the thickheaded god just sighed heavily, shaking his golden head. "He really has poisoned your mind, hasn't he? Demeter told me that he had, but I never expected it to be this bad…"

"My mother shouldn't even be involved in this!" Persephone snapped. Behind her the pomegranate started to spill its red juices down her back, like blood she could never really shed. "I am in charge of my own fate, not her, and certainly not you!"

"I am tired of hearing this!" Hermes snapped, reaching for her again. "Let's just go now and get this over with—"

"You will kindly take your hands off of my goddess," a dark voice suddenly boomed, causing Persephone's heart to turn as light as the clouds. Peering beyond Hermes shoulder she saw her beloved, standing in all his dark glory at the entrance to his realm, eyes fire and passion as he snarled at Hermes. "Before I make you a part of my realm."

"Hades," Persephone whispered breathlessly, her eyes only on the god of the underworld as Hermes slowly released her and backed away. The light eyes of the messenger god were slowly darkening with the sin of petty emotions, with the shadows of hate and greed. "Hades," he all but growled, "What a shame that you should make it here…"

Hades eyes were literally filled with fire as he started to advance on the messenger god, lips curled in a ghastly snarl. "I will **destroy **you boy…"

If Hermes was scared of the approaching god he did a good job of hiding it. Persephone was thinking about interfering—as much as she hated him, she didn't want to see Hermes hurt— until Hermes, with a dark grin twisting his lips, held up the helmet of invisibility. The sight of it—Hades most prized possession in someone else's hands—caused the lord of the underworld to stop. The flames in his eyes practically smoldered.

"Where did you get that?" he hissed, dark fire starting to burn at his feet and fingertips. "Give that back to me."

"Not so powerful without this, are you?" Hermes mocked cruelly, twisting the helmet in his hands. "Tell me, Hades, is this more important to you than Persephone?"

"No one is more important to me than her!" Hades immediately responded, his dark eyes flickering momentarily to the startled spring goddess. Persephone felt her mouth part and a tremble pass through her body under his intense gaze, so dark with fire and rage and—somehow—love for her. "Oh Hades…" she whispered, taking a half-step closer to him. Hermes dark scoff ruined their moment.

"You can't be anything to her!" the messenger god hissed, "What can you provide for the goddess of _spring? _Why don't you just admit that you don't deserve her, you soulless creature, and realize she doesn't belong with you?"

"She may not belong in my world, but that is her choice boy," Hades replied in tones of ice. "Persephone has chosen to love me, and I will never take that love for granted, unlike you. Like Zeus you will eventually stray from her for some other woman—mortal or goddess—and break her heart. You are fickle whereas I am not; the darkness doesn't change, boy."

"How dare you say such things to me you vile being!" Hermes roared, "I will never betray her; I can't even fathom such a thought! She will always be safe with me and I already have her mother's blessing! Do you think Demeter will let her only daughter go to _you_?"

Persephone, who had so far been listening to the argument with a growing urgency in her heart, felt fit to cut in at this point. "My mother does not own me Hermes," she snapped, "The days where she made my decisions for me are behind me! I told you once and I will tell you again: I am no longer the young girl you knew! I am no longer you're best friend."

For a second Hermes seemed to be suitably startled before the curse of the gods, those perfect illusions they weave for themselves, kicked back in. "Don't be ridiculous Persephone," the messenger god laughed, and it was a sharp and quick sound. "You will always be my best friend and, of course, my wife. I just need to get you away from this darkness so you can see that—"

"The only darkness here exists inside of you Hermes," Persephone bit out, frustrated. Behind her back the pomegranate was warm in her hands, so much so that she can't help but think it was alive. "I will not leave Hades for anyone—not you, and certainly not my mother! This is my life and I chose Hades!"

"You won't have a choice," Hermes growled, raising the helmet in his hands. "I already have the helmet and I need that stupid deer—"

"The competition for Persephone's heart is over, boy," Hades cut in. His eyes still blazed, but there was something else starting to burn underneath all that fire that almost resembled pity. Hades knew what it was like to love a woman irrevocably, madly; luckily for him she had returned his affections. But if Persephone had denied him who was to say he wouldn't have ended up just like Hermes? "Return home with honor."

"_Honor?_" Hermes spat, face turning red. "You dare speak to me about honor? You? You, who abducted her, dragged her down into the earth like a common—"

He was cut off by a sudden burst of flames in front of him. Hermes just managed to get out of the way before he was burned to a crisp, startled and shaking as he stumbled back into a tree. Across the clearing Hades eyes burned worse than ever, a void of conflicting emotions no one could truly understand. Except, perhaps, the young girl at his side.

"You will desist at once," Hades thundered and for a moment he sounded like his brother, up on Olympus taking on the burden of the earth. "I pity you, boy, I truly do, but my pity can only extend so far. If you ever want happiness, you need to let Persephone go."

"I will not let her go to you!" Hermes shouted back, helmet clutched in his slightly shaking hands. "I love her—"

"You don't know what love is, Hermes," Persephone spoke up, a tiny bell like voice of ice. "And I pity you, too. Maybe I could have loved you once, but never now. You've shown a side of you that frightens me; I want nothing to do with you anymore."

Hermes started to pale, jaw clenching as sweat formed on his pristine brow. Persephone looked him in the eye and she knew that all he could see was indifference; it was all she had left for him, her one time friend. All the sorrow she had felt over losing him was gone now; this needed to end, like all things, and it needed to end now.

"You don't mean that," Hermes swallowed. "He's brainwashed you, made you believe such silly things! But I have your mother's blessing, and the deer and the helmet! You will be my bride! _Mine_!"

Hades started to step towards Hermes, fire blazing in his hands and heart, but was stopped by a gentle hand on his arm. With just a touch from her, his wrath dissipates. Persephone was calm as she held the pomegranate out in front of her, red like a heart in the light. She can feel the air change as she held it, dainty and staining her hand a faint pink and she knew then that this was it, wasn't it? The end.

"What are you…?" Hades tried to say, but Persephone cut him off, eyes still trained on the bewildered Hermes.

"I'm going to show you that I can handle myself Hermes; I can handle my own fate and make my own choices and you won't have a say, not anymore!" Her exclamation was loud in the open air, a shining arch of light heralded by the sinking of her incisors into the soft red skin of the fruit, in the light of daylight.

Her eyes were no longer on Hermes but on Hades, whose dark eyes held a shocked understanding, a frightened hope. She wished she could smile at him then, and she would have if her mouth had not been full of the sweet bitterness of the pomegranate, the taste like the ashes of her old life and seeds of her new one. Juices ran down her neck to her jaw, but she did not stop, her tongue finding seeds and swallowing, one by one, until there was no doubt that she was in this for nothing less than eternity.

"Persephone, what in all the heaven are you doing?" Hermes cried out, not understanding and how could he? He did not know that fate had been against him from the beginning, that a single red pulp would be the end to the delusion of being with her in his mind. "Drop that at once! Stop—"

But Persephone had swallowed and the fruit, now savaged by teeth, was dropped to her feet. In the daylight the red on her mouth looked like the sweetest of disasters and she was smiling, absurdly, defiantly, a woman now with her hair like burnished fire. Hades stepped up next to, hesitantly reaching out and Persephone did not hesitate in placing herself in his arms, those cold dark things that would support her forever and ever now.

"I win," she told Hermes, who was still sputtering, still so absurdly confused. "You cannot take me now, not really. I am one with the Underworld, and the dead are my brethren."

"What? No!" Hermes shook his head, scowling, and denial is at his very core destroying his bursting heart. "What did you do? That pomegranate, what—"

But he was cut off by the sound of the earth mourning. In the time Persephone had first sunk her teeth into the pomegranate, she had known that her mother had felt it. She had known her mother would know what she had done and she knew that her mother would know what it meant. Maybe she should have been afraid, knowing that it would destroy her mother, but she could not be. She has spent too long living for her mother and it's time, in Hades arms, that she lived for herself.

The sight of her mother, Demeter of the earth, standing in front of her sending earthquakes of power through the earth does little to upset her, not like it should, not like it would have used to. Demeter was green all over, skin raised and prickled with vines of venom that curled around her lithe frame, power vibrating off of her in waves.

"You did this!" Demeter shrieked at Hades, voice like razors and vines whipping every which way. Behind her mother, vaguely, Persephone noticed Athena appear in the shadows of an old tree, splendid in armor and shield. "You took her from me!"

The vines shoot out, aimed for Hades heart, but Persephone was quick. As Hades raised a hand of flame the goddess of spring—no the _Queen of the Underworld—_created her own vines to intertwine with her mother's, locking them together in a standstill.

"Persephone!" Demeter gasped in surprise, green skin flickering back to tan for a moment in her surprise. "Where did you—"

"I learned it," Persephone answered, voice bitter and sharp. "All on my own, when you locked me away like a common prisoner. Weren't expecting this, were you mother?"

"I—"Demeter faltered, her vines retreating momentarily back towards her. "Daughter—"

"We did it for your safety," Hermes stepped in, winged shoes darting him across the clearing to stand next to Demeter. His jovial eyes were burning with hatred at the stoic Hades. "This being that dares call himself a god deceived you—"

"Talk about him in such a manner again and I will choke you with my vines," Persephone hissed, almost surprised herself at how hostile she sounded. At her side Hades leaned towards her, a silent support that gave her all the courage she required. "I mean it, Hermes, mother—Stop this! It's too late now anyway; I've eaten the pomegranate, ingested the seeds. I am part of the Underworld now, a part of Hades."

"We can change it!" Demeter was mad with desperation, skin a sickly green, beautiful face twisted in an unfathomable sorrow. "You cannot be taken from me! I will not allow this! I will not stand for this! Zeus! _Zeus!_"

"My brother will not come to your aid," Hades told Demeter, his tone startlingly gentle. "This is beyond him now, Demeter." He bore no ill will to his sister, who he had known from the start had existed only for Persephone. He didn't like to see her hurt, but it had happened and there was no going back. Persephone's hand, still sticky with the juices of the pomegranate, found his at their sides and squeezed.

"Nothing is beyond Zeus," Demeter growled, eyes flashing the colors of the decaying earth. "It _can't _be."

"But it is mother," Persephone insisted. "It's with the fates now. I am dead, in a way, and I must now reside in the Underworld, with my beloved, for all eternity."

"You're the goddess of the spring though!" Hermes yelled. "Spring can't be in the Underworld, it's not natural, by the gods—"

"But love can exist anywhere," Athena, who had watched the entire exchange thus far in silence, spoke up. At her side Arbela appeared, glimmering like the sun in the light of day. "And love clearly exists here. Are you so blinded by selfishness that you cannot see this, Hermes? And you Demeter are you too blinded by the fear of being alone?" The goddess of wisdom asked. "Even gods change. We must change and accept, adapt as we must. Persephone has chosen."

"She has not!" Hermes cried. "The competition for her hand is still in effect! Look, I have the helmet! She is my love, to be mine, to be—"

In a flash of gold Hermes found himself tossed hard across the clearing, crashing into the ground harshly with a strangled yell. Above his fallen form Arbela stood proudly, soft brown eyes burning with satisfaction and anger.

_You will desist at once, messenger god. This is madness, not true love. You will speak no more of this matter, as you are defeated, once and for all. Return home. Find real love. Exist as you are meant to, not as you want to. _The golden doe's gentle voice wafted through the air like petals in the breeze.

"She is right, Hermes," Athena rejoined. "The competition is null and void in the wake of the pomegranate; you have no hope of claiming Persephone. Take my words of wisdom and find your happiness elsewhere, and stop being a child. You are a god and you must act like one."

"Don't listen to her, Hermes!" Demeter demanded. "Don't listen to any of them! There is still hope!"

For a long moment Hermes laid there on the ground, still trembling slightly with the weight of Demeter's pain. He did not look at anyone but Persephone as he slowly go to his feet, eyes pale and hollow, a mask of despair. "Forgive me," he whispered as Arbela backed away from him on delicate hooves, and Persephone looked back at him with the eyes of her lover.

And now he has seen it, the dark edges that never belonged to the Persephone he loved. The way her skin was pale, her hair not like the sun but like fire, and her body hardened and twisted by sharp curves. This was not the girl he loved, but someone else, a Queen and a being of darkness and fluctuating light, independent and as fiery as the hair on her head.

On the ground, the pomegranate was a sad misshapen lump, just like his heart.

_Persephone…_

With a flick of his heels Hermes was gone, taken flight from the clearing and everything he used to love, left to stare after his retreating form with emotionless eyes.

"Now look at what you have done!" Demeter screamed at Athena, and around them trees began to uproot themselves. "You've ruined everything, you've—"

"You've always been dramatic, Demeter," Athena rolled her eyes. "But this is getting a little extreme. If you wish to talk to Zeus about this matter, you can, but there is little you can do or say that will pry your daughter from Hades arms. It is pointless, and your rage is a sad thing to witness."

"_Sad?_" Demeter repeated as the vines wrapped around her stirred again, flickering towards the other goddess. "That is my only daughter in the hands of—"

"Your brother. A fellow god. A good god," Athena said. "Hades may run the Underworld, but so what? Are you so vain? It is a realm, perhaps dark, but a castle, a powerful place, a safe place for your daughter. You know that."

Demeter turned again on Hades, limbs creaking like branches as she moved in her fury. "You monster, you filth, you dreadful being borne from—"

"Mother, _stop, stop _this now!" Persephone shouted, tiny hands clenched into fists as she stepped up in front of Hades, shielding him with her petite body as though that would be enough to stop him from getting hurt from words. "He is my _husband! _He's always been my husband! Just because, back then, he didn't kiss me at that altar and make it so does not make it any less true! Why can't you let me go and live my life?"

"Life?" Demeter scoffed, "What life could one possibly live in that dark abysmal place! All there is in his world is darkness and death. You cannot survive that, daughter of the spring!"

"You think I'm so weak?" Persephone hissed. "You think I don't know what I'm getting myself into? I know the souls that pass, both good and evil. I know the darkness echoes with monsters that I cannot fathom, and that I will grow pale and the sun will not warm my skin as much as it used to. I am not stupid. But you know what, mother? Hades is worth it. He's worth everything I'm giving up because I love him. I _love _him, mother. I will be his spring and he…he will be my winter."

Behind her Hades shifted, a choked sound rising out of his mouth as his hand found her delicate hip, her soft glowing hair. "Persephone…"

Demeter's eyes were wide and wild, her face a disaster of conflicting emotions. "You…You cannot…"

_You have done well, goddess of the earth, in raising her, _Arbela's voice sang out, the doe a gentle presence appearing at Demeter's side. _But now it is time to let her go. Like the earth, all things grow. Like the earth, all things die. You've had her for so long now, she had forgotten herself. Now she is herself. Persephone is the Queen of the Underworld, but she will always be your daughter._

"Listen to us, Demeter, this is how it should be," a new voice said, and Eros stepped into the conflict, his wings fluttering and his eyes so soft with compassion. "It is true love; I would know."

"You planned this?" Demeter demanded of the god of love, "You _made _them fall in love, didn't you?"

"You cannot make a person fall in love," Eros replied calmly, unconcerned for the goddess's burning blue stare on him. "You can only help them along at times. No one helped these two; maybe that first disastrous time, but not now, this time. Look at them, goddess of the earth. How can you not see their love?"

Demeter flinched and in her eyes tears started to form. Around her the vines were breaking down, the green sheen that covered her skin receding. Persephone stepped forward, towards her mother with all the love that was not now Hades' reflecting in her light sky eyes. "I will always love you, mother, I will. You must know that."

Demeter let out a single long shaky breath, her eyes closing as her daughter's arms encircled her, colder than she remembered. "I know that, I know," she whispered into passion red hair. "But I…Do you truly love him?"

Persephone pulled away from the hug to smile up into her mother's eyes, and her face shone as brightly as Apollo's chariot. "Yes mother, I do, I truly, completely do. I never meant to but…I do. Please, let me be with him. Please…"

Demeter took her daughter back into her arms and sighed, a long, hard breath that Persephone could feel move against her, within her. "I love you so much," the goddess of the earth whispered. "That perhaps my love for you consumed me. I do not understand why you chose…him, but…maybe the spring can only be temporary."

"Thank you mother, thank you so much!" Persephone beamed, pressing a kiss to her mother's familiar, soft cheek. "This is not a goodbye, you know. I will still walk amongst the living, as spring must exist, right?"

"Spring must always exist somewhere," Demeter smiled, touching her daughter's smooth face, her soft hair. "I must accept this, I realize and…with time, I will. Please forgive me for trying to take away your happiness."

Persephone shook her head. "You only did it out of love for me, and concern; you have nothing to apologize for. Well, at least, not to me. You should apologize to my husband, however."

Demeter's face darkened for a moment as she glanced away from her daughter to the lord of the Underworld, who had been watching the exchange with a stoic face. As their eyes met, brother and sister, Demeter saw something shining in those crimson eyes, not with darkness but with light. The goddess of the earth slowly moved towards him their eyes never left each other's, a silent stand-off.

"You will take care of her," Demeter said, mouth pursued. "Or you will know what will happen."

Hades arched a dark brow. "I have no doubt that you would tear this world apart if Persephone even remotely frowned, dear sister. But you know I will. I always will."

Demeter closed her eyes and allowed a sad, soft smile to cross her face. "Well then, there is nothing left to say, is there? I will help plan the wedding, of course."

"Oh mother!" Persephone cried in happiness, tackling her mother in a hug before reaching up and, in the sunlight, with the pomegranate decaying on the ground, kissed Hades in a clash of cold and warmth.

_This is love, _Arbela snorted to Eros, _true love, isn't it?_

Eros smiled, spreading his wings. "As close as it can ever be, my friend."

Athena shook her head in amusement, picking up the discarded helmet of invisibility from the ground. "Well look at that," she sighed, "Even gods can have happy endings."

Up in the clouds, Zeus turned to his wife. "My darling Hera, it's time to have a wedding." And the clouds were so white that day.

_One more chapter to go! _


End file.
